The war instantly and radically changed the lives of Ukrainians. Instead of the usual professional and personal affairs, thousands of men and women are defending their homeland, thousands of women with children were forced to hide in bomb shelters or leave their homes, and thousands of citizens are volunteering. Local self-government also changed at this time. After all, instead of developing their own communities, leaders and representatives of local councils are forced to focus their efforts on solving urgent issues of at least the minimum livelihood of local residents and countering the enemy.
On the first day of Russia’s treacherous attack on Ukraine, the enemy planned to quickly occupy the capital, but the way passed through the northern territorial communities of Chernihiv region. As a result of strong resistance and the destruction of russchists’ plans, some territorial communities of the region have been cut off from cities and are now forced to deal with martial law on their own – many have no access to medicines and medical care; faced with the lack of food supply and problems with power supply and communication. However, people are steadily overcoming adversity, ready to repel the enemy, and even preparing for sowing.
In Horodnia and Koriukivka, people stopped columns of enemy vehicles with their bare hands
In the first days of the Russian-Ukrainian war, residents of the border communities of Chernihiv region went on the roads and tried to stop the movement of enemy’s military equipment columns with their bare hands. In particular, such cases took place in Horodnia and Koriukivka communities. This is despite the fact that the residents of the border area, traditionally, due to their territorial proximity, have family ties with the residents of the nearest settlements of Russia. No one was waiting for the enemy army and no one was happy to meet it.
Thus, in Koriukivka in Chernihiv region on February 27, locals stopped the movement of enemy vehicles. According to the Koriukivka city council, enemy vehicles entered Koriukivka and did not continue to move that day.
“People united and negotiated together with law enforcement officers. The enemy agreed to withdraw”, the city council informed.
The residents of Horodnianska community did the same – the locals turned a column of enemy vehicles back.
According to a local journalist, people rallied and did not let enemy vehicles through the city in the direction of Chernihiv. Horodnia residents went out against the aggressor en masse without weapons.
“Horodnia today. This is on all roads in the city. People have blocked strategic paths to stop enemy vehicles”, the woman wrote under her photo, which shows residents not passing military equipment on the road.
The journalist clarified that women were especially active, men talked to the commander. The Russian military turned around. In addition, a delegation led by a local priest, Father Volodymyr, went to an enemy checkpoint to urge the Russians to withdraw from Ukrainian land.
Residents of Dobryanska community, which has a pedestrian border crossing point with neighboring Belarus, also demonstrated their pro-Ukrainian stance. Representatives of the community, led by Svitlana Bytsko, went to the border area with Ukrainian flags, sang the Ukrainian national anthem and expressed their position that neither the Russian nor the Belarusian military are welcomed here.
In a few days in Horodnia, a group of armed Russian servicemen blocked approaches to the city council. As reported on the page of the newspaper “News of Horodnianshchyna” in social networks, the mayor and his deputies were left in the building. “The city was in tension for an hour – what do they want and how will it end?” Negotiations with the city administration ended with an agreement: while the Ukrainian flag hangs on the City Hall, the city council will continue to work, ensuring the minimum needs of the community’s residents”, the statement reads. In a video posted on the publication’s page, Mayor Andriy Bohdan noted that he would work in the city council only under the Ukrainian flag.
At the same time, occupiers warned that this would continue until there were no protests and terrorist attacks by the local population. When asked by a local resident whether the military would shoot at unarmed residents of Horodnia, the mayor said he did not know. In comments, locals called the change of the state flag in the community council unacceptable, and expressed concern that there would be betrayal or provocation in the community.
The behavior of the enemies, who expected a warm welcome at first, in Chernihiv region was quite restrained in relation to civilians. However, later, according to intercepted conversations of the occupiers, they were ordered to kill locals, no matter if they are women, children or the elderly. As an example, in Mokhnatyn, near Chernihiv, the Russian military shot dead three boys, two of whom were minors, just because they were walking down the street while a column of enemy vehicles was moving.
Such hostile actions encourage the local population to oppose the Russian occupiers in all possible ways and means.
Guerrilla warfare: famous and nameless heroes
Chernihiv region during the Second World War was famous as a guerrilla region. It seems that history repeats itself during the Russian aggression against Ukraine in the XXI century – the locals are determined to resist the invaders. Nobody talks about the guerrilla movement in the communities, so as not to harm their own people. But its presence is evidenced by intercepted conversations of Russian soldiers, where they complain about the guerrillas. And the head of the regional military administration Viacheslav Chaus posted a photo of burned enemy equipment on his page, eloquently signing it “Chernihiv region is a land of partisan and labor glory.”
Currently, the settlements of the region live by the laws of war – in most communities, a curfew has been introduced, patrols are organized, and special attention is paid to foreigners. In the cities and towns of Chernihiv region, men and women have joined the territorial defense, to control the situation on the streets and guard the checkpoints.
In the first days of the war, Ukravtodor appealed to Ukrainians, including residents of Chernihiv region, to remove road signs, especially signs of settlements, to disorient the enemy. In many Polissya villages and settlements, indeed, the pointers were cut off. However, local residents showed creativity: they put other indicators in place of the ones that clearly show the attitude of Chernihiv residents to Russians. In particular, such indicators are reported in Semenivska and Horodnianska communities. As the mayor of Semenivka Serhiy Dedenko informed, instead of the name of the native city, locals wrote «Russian fascists, be cursed. Burn in hell!” in Russian. This clearly demonstrates the civic position of the residents of Semenivshchyna. In another area, locals made a signpost “Russia, to the final journey.”
Also, on many roads in Chernihiv region, locals set up numerous blockages of trees to stop the enemy’s advance, at least for a while. After all, the inhabitants of forest communities know, if necessary, to bypass roads, and the enemy mostly travels by road.
“Semenivka roads. If a tanker of these brutes arrives at its destination half an hour later, it could save the lives of our soldiers who are now dying in the fight against the occupiers. Everyone in the area knows how to get around the blockages. Yes, it is the longer way, but in the conditions of war it is a forced step!”, – the head of the community Dedenko noted.
Residents of Koriukivshchyna are committing similar actions.
“The enemy has one route – to go fuck themselves! We are standing! Everything will be fine”, said Koriukivka Mayor Ratan Akhmedov.
Such an approach gives results – in Snovska community, due to roadblocks, locals stopped a gas truck and detained the driver.
“Due to the blockage created by the northerners, a Russian fuel truck in Novy Borovychi of Snovska community crashed into a tree and the driver was detained. Fuel for refueling the occupiers did not arrive … “, – informed a local journalist. In the comments, people recommended using fuel for the Ukrainian army or for sowing.
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The Operational Command “North” clarified that police officers seized documents and belongings. “Believe in your defenders! Support them! Do not give the enemy a chance”, the statement said.
Also, local residents of Chernihiv region are vigilant and inform the Armed Forces about the movement of enemy vehicles. Perhaps the greatest success of this cooperation was the destruction of a train of 56 fuel tanks by Ukrainian servicemen on February 26, being reported in time by local residents.
Local people from Chernihiv region also arranged ambushes in which enemy soldiers fall. In Ichnianska community, one of the units of the Operational Command “North” destroyed an enemy checkpoint, and the servicemen of the neighboring checkpoint laid down their arms, being ambushed by civilians. In addition, Sribnianska community handed over to the Ukrainian military a multi-purpose armored tractor MTLB and KamAZ loaded with trophy shells for the «Hurricane» multiple rocket launcher. The residents of the community repulsed the equipment from the occupiers and repaired it.
Heroic but tragic deeds also take place in the communities of Chernihiv region. Anatoliy Kulheiko, the head of the Ripky Hunters’ and Fishermen’s Organization, died bravely in Ripkynska community. The occupiers broke into his house with a demand to provide lists of all hunters in the community, presumably for further persecution. In response, he detonated a hand grenade. The man died, but so did the enemies.
Main agenda – ensuring the minimum needs of people and sowing
Part of the communities of Chernihiv region remains cut off from the world due to the enemy offensive and damaged roads, especially bridges over rivers. In the shops of many settlements, all food products have long since run out, there are no new deliveries and it is unknown when they will be resumed. Therefore, the leadership of these territories is focused on solving priority problems in the face of limited opportunities, power outages, and communications. The first issue that needs to be addressed is the provision of bread. After all, some communities did not have their own bakeries, and bakery products were supplied from neighboring ones. Now they have begun to revive their own, although this had to be done in conditions of small reserves of flour, yeast, and oil.
A bakery was launched in Parafiivska community in the south of Chernihiv region, although its equipment did not work for four years. “I thank the caring citizens for the yeast, oil, sugar, salt, and the management of PJSC “Nyva-Plus” and “Kremin’”- for the flour,” – wrote the head of the community Halyna Petrusha. She said that on March 5, the bread was distributed to the wards of the territorial center of social services, the most vulnerable families. The next day, residents of the villages of Ivanytsia, Petrushivka, Vlasivka, and Berezhivka received bread. Then – residents of Martynivka and Parafiivka.
“Bread will be delivered according to the schedule, which will be published on social networks. Don’t worry, dear compatriots, you will all get bread”, Petrusha stressed.
Bread is also baked in other communities of Chernihiv region. According to local residents, a resident of the Sosnytska community shared an old recipe for sourdough bread, because the community has already run out of yeast. And this allows establishing the supply of bread to the settlements of the community.
Residents of the territorial community are trying to help the Ukrainian army as much as they can, weaving camouflage nets. And still busy preparing for sowing. Not far from one of the villages of Sosnytska community, Ukrainians smashed an enemy’s convoy of fuel trucks and spilled diesel fuel, forming a real pond. Local men organized and exhausted this pond, because fuel at this difficult time is extremely necessary for sowing.
Koriukivka Mayor Ratan Akhmedov also called on local community entrepreneurs to start preparing for sowing and gradually resume work. He stated this in a video message posted on his Facebook page. According to him, several weeks of forced downtime entail losses not only for entrepreneurs, but also for the budget of Ukraine, and, accordingly, the provision of the Armed Forces.
“I am asking you to gradually restore this issue. But understand that we are on the front line, and we must do everything so that the occupier could not use these material values for themselves, especially in order to counter our armed forces”, Ahmedov stressed. Of course, sowing under fire is a challenge and a difficult test for everyone. However, the peasants believe that Ukrainians will obtain both victory and the harvest.
Communities of Chernihiv region ask to close the sky over Ukraine
Territorial communities of Chernihiv region contribute to the defense of the country and the approach of victory, supporting the demands of the state leadership to close the skies over Ukraine. Relevant appeals, which have more symbolic and emotional significance rather than legal force, have been approved by a number of communities in the region. They consider such a step extremely necessary for successful counteraction to the aggressor. Thus, head of Sosnytska community Andriy Portnyi released a video of the appeal, demonstrating his own position and that of local deputies.
Nosivska community has appealed to its compatriot, US Congresswoman Victoria Sparts, to close the skies over Ukraine. According to Deputy Mayor Victoria Vershnyiak, the appeal in support of the request of the President of Ukraine to close the skies over our country was addressed to “Victoria Sparts – the first in the history of the United States ethnic Ukrainian elected to Congress, fellow countrywoman, Nosivchanka.”
“Thousands of dead and wounded children, women, the elderly, destroyed hospitals, schools, kindergartens – such a price has already been paid by the Ukrainian people for delays in closing the skies over Ukraine,” – said in a document signed by Nosivka Mayor Volodymyr Ihnatchenko.
Regardless of the situation in which the settlements of the region found themselves after the attack of the Russian army, the inhabitants of the communities of Chernihiv region oppose the occupiers and believe in the victory of Ukraine.
Author: Iryna Synelnyk, Chernihiv