Mykolaiv Oblast Life on the front line: Lymany and Lupareve overcome the consequences of Russian terror

Consequences of Russian strikes in Lupareve, Mykolaiv region: Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

The Russian attack on Lupareve on April 7, 2022 became a tragic memory for the family of the village school director Valentyna Kondratiuk. At the time of arrival, the house contained a newly born baby and an elderly woman — Valentyna's mother-in-law, who died of cardiac arrest a few days later.

A Russian rocket fell on the road in front of the windows of the house. The shock wave instantly shattered the fence around the yard.

«The fence was blown away, it was in the house and on the roof, the roof was also demolished, the walls inside were cut, the doors were destroyed. During the flight, my mother-in-law was in the bedroom and she suffered a concussion. She died of a heart attack on April 10,» the woman says.

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The village of Lupareve of the Halytsynove community in the Mykolayiv region was on the front line for about nine months. Just a few kilometers from here is the Kherson region. There, in the neighboring village of Oleksandrivka, stood Russian troops who terrorized the surrounding villages almost every day.

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NikVesti visited Lupareve and neighboring Lymany, where they asked local residents what life is like on the front line, and how they are now returning to a more or less normal life.

No surviving house

There is not a single surviving house here, every household has felt the impact of Russian aggression: from minor scratches on the facade to completely burned out houses, where people will never return.

«To say that 20-30 houses were damaged, then no. In our house, every house was damaged, but the degree of destruction was different for everyone. Basically, the degree of damage to our houses is average, about 10% is severe, which is not subject to restoration, and 20% are houses with light damage,» says village head Nataliia Panashii.

Nataliia Panashii, head of Lymany and Lupareve villages. Screenshot from the video report

Before the Great War, about 3.5 thousand people lived in the two villages. After February 24, almost all residents left there. At the time of the heaviest shelling, only 37 people remained in Lupareve, at that time 202 people lived in Lymany.

In November 2022, as the front line moved, local residents began to return home. Already by the end of 2022, about 600 people have returned to Lymany, up to 100 to Lupareve.

Some have nowhere to return to, some simply won't be able to.

I close my eyes and see how she was lying and the trail of blood when she crawled

Since February 24, 2022, three people have died in the villages. The former headmistress of a school in Lymany bled to death near her house. Nataliia Panashii with tears in her eyes remembers how she found the body of a fellow villager.

«This was the last victim here. Her legs were cut off, she bled to death near her own house. It happened at 4 o'clock in the evening, I personally found her around 8 o'clock. «Sometimes I close my eyes and see how she was lying and the trail of blood when she crawled,» says the elder.

Consequences of Russian strikes in Lupareve, Mykolaiv region: Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

The first victims of the Russians were two men in Lupareve. On April 5, 2022, the Russian military struck a village store, next to which villagers were hiding in a bomb shelter. The three young men did not have time to go inside, they were cut by fragments. Fortunately, one of the three managed to survive.

«My friend was wounded, my friends and I drove up, picked up the victim and took him to the hospital in Korabelnyi district (in Mykolaiv, — note),» recalls Yurii Beshevets, a local resident and volunteer.

Resident of the village of Lupareve, volunteer Yurii Beshevets. Screenshot from the video report

They bought the house before the invasion, and in April it was destroyed by a rocket

Nataliia, a resident of Lupareve, and her husband bought a house in December 2021, in which they lived as tenants for many years. However, the couple did not have time to enjoy their own home. Already on April 6, 2022, a Russian missile hit the house directly. Natalia and her family lived in Mykolaiv at that time.

«When we arrived, I entered the gate, sat under the fence and cried because I didn't know where to start. We only bought it in December 2021, we haven't even issued the documents yet, we're just nobody here. People told us that this house cannot be restored, it is easier to demolish it and build another one on this place,» says the woman.

Natalia, a resident of Lupareve. Screenshot from the video report

Only a few walls remained from the house, the summer kitchen next to the house survived. It was there that Nataliia moved with her family to start rebuilding the house. However, the kitchen ceiling was damaged by debris, which caused the roof to get wet during bad weather and continued to collapse until it fell on the owners' bed in the middle of the night.

Natalya is a technical worker at a local school, her husband is temporarily out of work. She says she did not understand how much it would cost to rebuild the house.

«People, acquaintances helped us buy stone, gave us slate so that we could cover at least one house. People helped me, I borrowed something, we built a veranda, installed windows. We were also helped by Dobrobat. I couldn't believe it, because many people are now promising to help. But they completely replaced my roof. The Dutch organization «ZOA» was coming. They estimated the cost and gave us the funds. We bought stone and cement,» says the woman.

This is how Nataliia's house looks today. Screenshot from the video report

This is how Nataliia's house looks today. Screenshot from the video report

Lymany and Lupareve have hope for restoration

Village head Nataliia Panashii says that international organizations started visiting the villages around September 2023.

In particular, the International Organization for Migration restored the roof of the old Lupareve dispensary. Now residents of the settlement have the opportunity to receive minimal medical assistance on the spot, instead of going to Mykolaiv.

«Then we were approached by organizations from France, which chose more than 50 households where windows and doors were replaced. The British came, they had 46 households where they replaced the windows and doors,» says the headman.

Consequences of Russian strikes in Lupareve, Mykolaiv region: Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

Only 100 households in both villages were able to receive compensation under the «eVidnovlennia» program. Natalya Panashii explains this by the fact that before the invasion, people were careless with their documents.

«And here the Dutch company «ZOA» came to our aid, which provided assistance to 165 households from 10 to 165 thousand hryvnias. Behind is also the administration building, which was damaged on April 8, 2022. There was no roof at all, the wall was lying. The community went to a meeting, they raised a wall for us, made partitions in the offices and then replaced the windows,» says the woman.

Valentyna Kondratiuk, the director of the school in Lupareve, like other residents, is trying to fix their lives, rebuild housing and live fully despite the continuation of the war. However, she says that reconstruction is not at all a priority for her family today.

«We are slowly trying to return to everyday life. Inside, we make cosmetic repairs whenever possible. Although at the moment there are more pressing issues than repairs. I think today we all help the Armed Forces as much as we can, we have more significant and serious issues than repairs. Our Victory is the most important thing,» says the woman.

Text: Olena Kozubovska

Video and photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn

This material was produced with the support of the NGO «Institute of Mass Information» within the framework of the project of the international organization Internews Network