Anastasiia Okhrimenko and Anna Korostenka stand in front of the graves of the men they loved, both of whom were killed on Ukraine’s eastern front. The two couples grew up together in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb now synonymous with the war’s atrocities.
The five had known each other since childhood. They came of age in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb now synonymous with the war’s most horrific atrocities. Their interwoven tales reveal how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exactly one year ago changed their lives, their neighborhood, their country.
The occupation, which lasted 33 days from the start of the invasion on Feb. 24 to April 1, when Russian troops withdrew, became a potent symbol of the war’s horrors. Liberation revealed the mass murder of civilians and cruel accounts of rape. More than 450 people were killed, according to local authorities.
Stirred by the massacre in their hometown, they joined the army in the spring of 2022. No one could afford to fold their arms and watch the war happen, said Vadym.It was her way of telling him he could count on her to wait for him. They had been together for seven years, a relationship sparked the day that Yurii, the boy she had met as a child and known only as her brother’s friend, reappeared in her life with an innocuous greeting on social media.It was a no-frills ceremony.
He returned to the front later. When the shelling ceased for a moment, Yurii made a dash for the car, thinking he had just enough time as the enemy reloaded weapons.It was Vadym, not Yurii, who called Anastasiia that morning. He had bad news from the Military Commissariat. “Yurii’s death pushed us to accept the fact that you can do anything in this life while you are still alive,” Anna says.
On Jan. 13, he called. It was too cold to sleep, he said, quivering. The combat lines were very close; he was 15 meters away from the enemy. He was scared.In long-range battles it’s not easy to see when you’ve killed someone, he explained. He had sent videos of himself from these positions before, shooting toward the faraway enemy lines, crying out: “For Stiahliuk!” — for Yurii. But here, he could clearly see how the bodies of the men he extinguished fell.
He dragged his friend to cover and looked for a pulse. He could swear he felt one, but the medic at the scene said Oleksii died instantly.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
In the lives of 5 friends, Ukraine's war story unfoldsBUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — In the cemetery where Oleksii Zavadskyi and Yurii Stiahliuk are buried, the women they loved take drags on the men’s favorite brands of cigarettes. Clouds of smoke are exhaled in silence.
Read more »
In the lives of 5 friends, Ukraine’s war story unfoldsOleksii and Yurii were killed on Ukraine’s eastern front five months apart. One was Vadym’s best friend and died in his arms. In the cemetery where the two are buried, Anna and Anastasi…
Read more »
Ukraine killing nearly 1,000 Russian troops every day, eliminates 5,000 in single battleUkrainian forces are killing nearly 1,000 Russian troops every day, and they eliminated 5,000 troops in a single battle in late January, according to U.K. officials.
Read more »
Reporter's Notebook: Italian support for Ukraine on the wane according to recent pollFormer Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi caused a firestorm in Europe over comments critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His words come as a recent poll found support for Ukraine dropping in Italy.
Read more »
Letters to the Editor: Don't escalate in Ukraine against nuclear-armed RussiaIs any territorial claim in Ukraine worth escalating the war there into a nuclear conflict between the U.S. and Russia? No.
Read more »
NATO allies weigh more arms for Ukraine as Russian artillery batters BakhmutRussian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive, as Western allies met to weigh sending more arms to Kyiv for an expected counter-attack.
Read more »