«Woke up from the blow of a chandelier on the head»: the Mykolaiv resident showed what was left of the home at the epicenter of the rocket attack
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10:00, 10 February, 2024
The house of Mykolaiv resident Valentin Chechui was destroyed by an explosive wave of a rocket attack in the morning of February 7. The car in which the man worked as a taxi was also completely crushed.
NikVesti correspondents visited the scene and spoke with Valentyn Hryhorovych.
The enemy attack happened around 6 in the morning. However, the man did not hear a single sound, but woke up from the impact of the chandelier on his head.
«I felt a blow on my head in my dream. Get up, there are no windows, the doors are broken, they were simply crushed into small pieces. I went outside, and here it is just complete horror. The gas was burning, the roofs of the neighbors were blown off everywhere. Then it turned out that the neighbor was seriously injured and died,» he said.
Valentyn Hryhorovych has two houses in his yard: the main one, where his father-in-law, suffering from dementia, lived, and a summer annex. The first house was completely destroyed: the ceilings fell, the windows and doors were broken. The roof is completely missing. All furniture and personal belongings were under a pile of debris and broken glass. In less, as the man says, «you can somehow live».
The 88-year-old grandfather was taken to a shelter for temporary migrants, while Valentyn Hryhorovych himself refused to go. What the rocket did not destroy will be looted by looters, the man says.
«And the ceiling fell, and the windows, but somehow it happened that the Lord had mercy on us, and we are alive. It is possible to rebuild the house, but it is not clear what the funds are. It is impossible to count. I don't even know how much the slate is worth now, and why do all this... Payments are promised, but when will it all be? We are not alone, there are many of us. Grandpa needs warmth and food. And I will do something for myself in a small house, somehow live, because it is impossible to leave it. Not only is everything destroyed, but you can be left without everything you have acquired. I will have to stay,» the man explained.
The communal services gave him a tarpaulin, a film and bars to minimally insulate and sew up the holes.
«I don't know how much this will be enough. I think that at least a small house can be covered and hidden. Winter is not over, if it is not covered, everything will collapse. I'll find a door, close the windows, and cover the roof with a tarp. And then we will recover somehow, because life goes on,» says Valentyn Hryhorovych with sadness in his eyes.
Showing the house from the inside, the man enters the living room and stops at the family corner, where there was a library, a sideboard and portraits of relatives. Next to the pile of destroyed furniture and broken window glass, neither dishes, nor photos, nor books were harmed in any way.
«The library was inherited from our grandfather's brother. Books were collected even in the days of the Soviet Union, when there was a great shortage: detective stories, adventures. And now no one needs her. If someone wants, we can even give it away, because it's a pity. Everything is destroyed, and the family portrait hangs and the dishes in the sideboard are intact, not even moved. Some kind of magic,» he wonders.
Valentyn Hryhorovych parked his car in the yard near the launch of a Russian rocket. For several years, the man worked for him in a taxi — it was his only income. It is possible to drive it, but it needs repair.
We want to help Valentyn Hryhorovych so that he can repair his car and continue earning. Using the details we publish, you can transfer any amount of funds to Valentyn.
Card number of Valentyn Hryhorovych: 5363542097044086
Attack on Mykolaiv on February 7
In the morning, around 6 am, the first explosions rang out in the city. As it became known later, Mykolaiv was attacked by Shahed and rockets.
Initially, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, reported that the roofs of about 20 residential buildings were blown off due to the explosions. City construction crews went to the scene, and residents are being assisted.
Later, the RMA added that a technical building was damaged in the territory of the infrastructure facility as a result of shelling. There was a fire there.
The State Emergency Service reported that more than 40 rescuers and 6 units of equipment are working to eliminate the consequences.
Leonid Hlove, a resident of Mykolaiv and an employee of the Mykolaiv branch of «Gazmerezha», was injured by a missile strike. The man was hospitalized, but due to a significant number of injuries, he died in intensive care.
NikVesti photo report from the place of impact is available at the link.