Mykola: The Ukrainian Man Who Refused To Flee From War
- By EPA-EFE
The village of Bohorodychne in the eastern region of Donetsk was home to about 600 people. When it came under attack from invading Russian forces in June 2022, its residents fled -- except for Mykola Honchar, who stayed behind to take care of his ailing, elderly mother.
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Mykola Honchar, 58, refused to evacuate from his village of Bohorodychne when it was attacked by Russian forces in June 2022. "It's my motherland. My mother is Russian, but I was born here.... Where can I go?"
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Mykola and his 92-year-old mother, Nina (left), braved two months of occupation over the summer of 2022 by relying on food rations from Russian soldiers. "They gave us cigarettes and dry rations including canned meat," he says. "The main things was to have something for mother."
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Their home, like many others in the village, was nearly destroyed by shelling. Despite their poor living conditions, Mykola refuses to leave his mother.
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When the settlement was retaken in mid-September by Ukraine's armed forces, it was devoid of life. “The only thing you can do is walk among the ruins. (There is) nothing,” he says.
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An old television is used as a stand for plants in their garden. As of the end of May, only 18 people had returned to the shattered village.
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With no work, Mykola (second right), now spends his time ferrying boxes of food brought by volunteers. The bridge that once spanned the Siverskiy Donets River -- allowing residents to travel for work and leisure -- lies submerged in the background.
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Mykola's dog Putin -- a name Ukrainian soldiers came up with "because he is evil, trying to bite everyone" -- waits for him near a shrapnel-scarred cross at the village cemetery.
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Mykola's brother Vasyl with his wife, Lubov, were killed by Russian mortars on July 10, 2022. He was forced to bury them in their yard due to the shelling.
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In the spring, Mykola's nephew traveled from Kyiv to exhume his parents' bodies. "We reburied them in the cemetery, like humans," Mykola said.
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Mykola checks on the two geese that previously belonged to his brother's family. With no work, he spend his time scrounging for materials to repair his home. “I need building materials and tools, but I don’t want to collect them from someone’s destroyed home,” he says.
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Mykola stands in one of the few areas of his home that is still livable. He had been told that wood and pellets for stoves would be provided, but “they are only promises.”
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Religious icons and packs of cigarettes lie next to a mirror that reflects Mykola. Despite the hardships, he is trying to remain positive. “Some people have had their houses totally destroyed -- that’s grief. We will survive,” he says.
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“Winter is coming soon,” Mykola says, determined not to spend it like he did the last one. “We plant potatoes and tomatoes. They will grow -- so long as there is no more shelling.”