From the very first day of the war the village of Artemivka of the Pechenizka village council was under occupation. The ordinary life of many families turned into a nightmare. The war brought a lot of grief and sadness to Valentyna and Vasyl Dragunkins family.
Valentyna was always watching the road through the window as the Russian occupiers were driving. She saw all the evil actions committed by the Russian military: "They were robbing dachas. They took everything. They took children's sneakers, pens... And what they could not steal, they shot or cut. We had a multimedia complex and a whiteboard in the biology classroom. They didn't take it, they just cut and shot it." It was scary. Everyone was afraid, especially for the children. When the Russians came, they immediately started taking away the locals' cars. Well, there were good people who betrayed, the Dragunkins say. The Russian commander and his soldiers said that if they wouldn't have the car in an hour, the children would be in trouble. The russists also mocked people and tortured the ATO soldiers... Unable to bear the life under the occupation, the men of the family secretly crossed the Pechenizka Dam and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Pavlo Oderii, Valentyna and Vasyl's son-in-law, who was defending Ukraine, was tragically killed. Three children were left without their father. Their son Oleksandr is still defending the country...
Watch the movie here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_mFnfJiPRI
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Supported by the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government.
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Some more relevant news for now