MYKOLAJIV. The tractor should now get into the fields, but there is no longer a tractor and no fields at all.
Both losses can be blamed on Russia’s operation to eradicate the Nazis.
In a village southeast of Mykolaiv, the Russian operation effectively means that Russia is terrorizing Ukrainians by indiscriminately firing rockets into their villages.
– The tractors were in the yard when they hit and caught fire. People began to put out the fire, but then there was another blow with Grad rockets. One of our neighbors died, says the farmer Serhiy Shevchenko.
Even if you get new tractors somewhere, the problem is the loss of the fields. Shevchenko has cultivated 40 hectares of wheat and 20 hectares of peas.
Russia had time to occupy the fields for a moment and sowed mines in them. Now the fields are too close to the front line, even though they are basically Ukrainian-dominated territory.
– Who would go there now? No one can harvest the crop anymore, Shevchenko updates.
Shevchenko says that in the nearby village mines have already detonated two tractors.
Throughout the province, the situation is not quite so inconsolable, at least not officially. Governor of Mykolaiv Province Vitaly Kimin according to (you switch to another service) 85% of the fields have been plowed.
The situation is most difficult in the border region of Mykolaiv and Kherson provinces, as the front line follows the provincial border quite closely.
The birds sing but do not obscure the sound of the artillery
‘s filming team escorted two villages near the front line, escorted by the Ukrainian armed forces. At the request of the armed forces, does not give the names of the villages.
On the way to the villages, the defense stations, equipment and roadblocks of the Ukrainian army are revealed. Among other things, we see how a large armored lace is rumbling fast towards the front through a village.
It must not be described as anything else related to the military or the armed forces. The military does not want to ease the Russian counterattacks.
The first village is almost completely deserted. We get to see what the ruined administration building in the village looks like next to a wild rampant playground.
The swings are no longer swaying in the wind, and no one smells irises, as the army says only a hundred of the village’s original inhabitants remain.
The lilacs smell intoxicating and the birds sing, but they don’t obscure the sound of the artillery.
The village track has always been bumpy, but the new pits made by Russian rockets are much deeper than before.
The walls of the buildings have not been intact before, but now they are full of holes punctured by fragments.
The hardware store door is locked with a padlock. When life sometimes returns to the village, the hardware store also needs a complete overhaul.
A small blue-yellow flag of Ukraine is attached to the metal bar of the village house. The villagers sewed it themselves, to replace the flag destroyed in the blow.
When the cue of the artillery reaches, an army representative rushes us back to the car. Although the morning on the front still looked calm, the situation has changed and we have to retreat further from the front.
Shevchenko’s solar panels have survived as if by a miracle trade
In the next village, we meet Serhiy Shevchenko, who is going to persevere on the spot no matter what happens.
According to Shevchenko, 5 to 10 rockets or grenades hit the village every day. One rocket recently hit his potato field, which is mainly for home cultivation.
There it still sticks, Shevchenko seems. He has not dared to dig up the rocket any further, but would leave the contract to the armed forces. If only they could come to the rescue.
As a miracle trade, however, Shevchenko’s latest investment has remained intact. There is a large number of solar panels in the yard, which is reportedly enough electricity for the needs of two houses.
Photovoltaics has proven to be a great choice, as war has occasionally cut off electricity. Fortunately, no bullets have hit the black glossy panels.
That was the good news then.
Most of the villagers have fled far from the front, and many houses have already been completely destroyed. Russia’s attacks also disbanded Shevchenko’s spouse Maryna Šulgan parents’ home.
– The worst moment was when my home was destroyed. It was the scariest. That’s when I cried a lot. We had time to leave just in time, Šulga says and wipes the corners of her eyes.
Šulga says the house broke into pieces. If there had been someone inside, there would have been no survival.
Such a war – the blunt bombardment of civilians – is far too much for most. Most of the villagers have fled to safer areas, including Šulga’s sister and grandchildren all the way to Finland.
It is reportedly very cold in Finland, but otherwise everything is fine, and Finns are helping Ukrainian refugees in everything.
Shulga and Shevchenko also fled their village for a short time when Russia threatened to take over the area, but after a month they returned.
“Yes we are afraid”
Now Shevchenko and Shulga are home to six people of three generations. Or lives and lives, because they actually live part of the time under the house.
Stone steps lead to the basement, where they all have to spend the night in between. The spacious but dim basement has two rooms and mattresses for everyone.
The basement roof is made of concrete, but it might still not protect against direct impact.
– Here we are now, but what if we see a rocket coming towards us. It will explode and that would be our end, Shevchenko says.
What is stressful is that Russian rocket attacks come as a surprise. They are irregular but everyday. They do not receive air alerts in advance.
– Yes, we are afraid. We know that Russia is firing on us, but the exact time can never be known, Shevchenko says.
According to Shevchenko, domestic animals are also roaring from Russian rockets. At least the German Shepherd doesn’t seem to like the surprise guests, but barks for a long time. There are also pigs and chickens around the corner.
Agriculture in Ukraine was very profitable
In the Ukrainian countryside southeast of Mykolaiv, a very normal life was lived three months ago.
Wealth also accumulated. Agriculture is a very profitable and important source of export revenue in Ukraine. Šulga says they could even afford to travel abroad.
– We were all right until the “Russian world” came here. They could sink back into their own land and just leave us alone, Šulga says.
According to Shulga, the Ukrainians have one wish – that Putin would die.
And even if it doesn’t happen, he has great confidence in the future.
– I am one thousand percent sure that Ukraine will win, with the support of the West, Šulga says.
“Russia has enough soldiers and it uses them like meat for a mill”
The keys to victory are in the Ukrainian army, whose soldiers were also visible on the outskirts of the villages.
One of the soldiers says on the village track that the Ukrainian armed forces are working better and more efficiently than the Russian armed forces in everything.
However, one advantage in Russia is on its side. Russia when not counting its losses and ignoring its losses.
– The biggest problem is that there are enough soldiers in Russia and Russia uses them like meat for a mill, says Ivansoldier using the name.
According to the Ukrainians, Russia is also at war in that it does not care about the rules of war, but kills civilians for what it has time to do.
– The occupiers are completely destroying the villages, whether they have soldiers or not, says Haddock presenting armor.
According to Haddock, the Ukrainian army is trying to concentrate clashes in forested areas, away from the villages. On the other hand, the enemy must be fought where it happens to be.
Haddock has two months of combat experience. He says in the first clash, they destroyed two Russian tanks and other tracked vehicles.
– At first it was difficult to see what was going on, there was so much adrenaline, Kolja says.
Now he is used to war.
Soldier: The amount of artillery fire in Russia has increased
The next day, the Ukrainian army takes ‘s shooting team to look a little further east on the same front.
The artillery fire is again so intense that the army is not afraid to take journalists right to the front line.
A little further back, life in the trenches is basically the same.
However, there is no need to fear direct fire, ie firing a machine gun or an armored car, because you are further away from the front and because the trenches have been dug deep enough.
Indirect fire, i.e. artillery fire, soldiers instead receive their necks every day. Officers show traces of the previous night’s attack, bumps made by Grad rockets on the side of the road.
– The amount of artillery fire in Russia has increased. Before, they fired a couple of times a day, but now the firing has become constant, he says Oleksijcalled a soldier.
We interview him safely under the log roof of the dugout.
At the same time, the dugout prepares lunch, potatoes and meat in a large pot. Soldiers have reportedly no high hopes for food as long as it gets enough.
Children’s drawings have been compiled on the wall
Drawings sent by the children of the soldiers have been compiled on the wall of the dugout. One child has written that “I am very missed. Come back soon. I’m proud of you.”
The sadness is mutual. Communication during the war is still quite close. Many call home several times every day, although using a cell phone is a security risk here.
– I can’t always call my wife because the situation is so difficult. The home crowd knows that calls can put us in danger, and that’s why they don’t worry much, even if we don’t always hear about us, Oleksij says.
The enemy’s home front hears its soldiers even less often. And more and more people will never call again.
Ukraine says it has killed nearly 30,000 Russian soldiers in less than three months.
A Russian combat helicopter was dropped on the field
A couple of weeks ago, two Russian soldiers died when their combat helicopters were dropped into the field a little further from the front.
The Ukrainian army seems to be rejecting ‘s filming team. A burnt red star stands out from the body.
The helicopter is so crushed that there is no certainty about its design. It was probably a Mi-24 heavy combat helicopter.
– These are their last attempts. The Russians are no longer afraid to fly into our territory, Captain Serhij says next to the wreck of the plane.
Like regular soldiers, an officer appears in public only under his first name during a war.
According to Serhijn, Russia has changed its warfare in a way that minimizes its own risks.
– They’re just firing missiles from far away like a garbage bag. They are afraid of direct confrontation and do not dare to fight a man against a man, Serhij explains.
Serhij takes ‘s shooting team 200 meters away, where helicopter crew equipment has been collected. Warped metal, jacket and empty toolbox.
The crew had no chance of surviving the crash.
– We didn’t let the dogs eat them, we buried them. Now they are fertilizing Ukrainian soil, Serhij says.
Adjacent to the ground is a pipe with a fur cap from a Russian helicopter pilot at the end. The last resting place of two soldiers.
The grain around it ripples in a strong wind.
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