Today we talked to one of the residents of Yashchykove (Perevalskyi district of the Luhansk region), Viktor Khvorostyanenko. He told us about the treachery and despotism of the pro-Russian terrorists that the residents of the village are faced with. It is noteworthy that the terrorists, supported by the head of the village council Yuri Gudin, cynically shell residential areas of the village with mortars and hypocritically throw responsibility upon Ukrainian military for these actions.

Viktor told us that the head of the village, Gudin, had personally called him today and threatened him with violence only because he turned off street lights at the request of the residents to prevent shelling in the night.

“Several days ago, as a result of the shelling, the main gas pipe in Yashchykove was damaged. Only a miracle and the selfless actions of Uncle Sasha and some other residents rescued the village from the tragedy. Uncle Sasha made numerous `rushes’ to the pipe to try block the gas leak with a clamp, occasionally sitting down and covering his head with his hands. At the same time the villagers drove me by car to the place where the main valve is located, which was 5 kilometers away”, said Victor.

Viktor also said that he and other villagers fixed the gas pipe just the day before which enabled the gas supply to reach the houses of the village.

To the question of why the council head was so angry about the actions of people trying to protect themselves against attacks and establish their domestic routine on their own, Victor answered:

“Yuri Anatolievich Gudin for some reason does not like that the village is not shelled nightly anymore because of the street lights turned off. He stated that he allegedly knew who had shelled us. I had a question if it is he who worked as a spotter? When I told him that there were witnesses who had seen that we had been shelled by militants (lots of people saw “Gazel” coming with a mortar and a minivan with militants; militants went out of the minivan, set the mortar and just shelled the village and then quietly packed up and left), he became very infuriated with my arguments. He also requested that I turn on the street lights again; probably so that the terrorists see what they fire at”, said our source.

“Could you please describe more in details the incident with the gas pipeline? Maybe you have photos of the shell-holes or maybe you took a photo of the place where you had set a clamp during the repair [of the pipeline]?”

Victor agreed that photo materials are very important and promptly went to take photographs. Half an hour later he returned with photos and additional comments from Uncle Sasha whom he had met in the area of the incident:

“The mortar shell exploded a hundred meters away, and then I heard strong hissing noise. I realized that the gas pipe was pierced and run to cut off the gas. On every explosion I sat down and covered my head with my hands. I did not think that this [explosion] could kill me, I was afraid that if I did not cut off the gas it would explode and people could die”, said Uncle Sasha.

“Victor, aren’t you afraid to tell this all, not hiding your name and personal data?”

“No, I have been repeatedly threatened, and several times the militants have looked for me; thus I am in disgrace, that’s for sure. It does not make sense to hide anymore, I am tired to run and hide in my own land. I have not done any evil to anyone. Thus if I suddenly disappear, you know that it is the head of the village serving the terrorists who is to blame. Oh yeah, please tell our military that we are waiting for them and we believe that they will liberate us and this nightmare will finally come to end. Don’t think badly of me. Glory to Ukraine!”

This story of one village having an area of 7 square kilometers and a population of about two thousand people reveals the situation in Donbas. The pro-Russian chimera and its stooges, reveling in their temporary authority on Ukrainian soil, are trying to sow death and chaos, and bring sorrow and pain to the homes of thousands of people. Hypocrisy of the militants is boundless; they call themselves “militia” and “defenders” and call regular Ukrainian forces “punishers”, “junta” and “fascists” although in reality it is diametrically opposite. With each passing day Donbas awakens more and more from the dopy propaganda of the Kremlin. When it is all over and the last terrorist is killed or condemned, peace, tranquility and order will come to Ukraine. We wish patience and strength to all Donbas residents. Russian terrorism is a disease, but the doctors are coming, they are very close now.

Interviewed by Roman Burko

Source: История одного поселка. Жизнь жителей в террористической оккупации

Edited by Larry Field