«I don`t have a leg, how will I walk»: the story of two brothers from the Mykolaiv region who survived a mine explosion

Ihor Virovkin from the village of Evhenivka lost his leg as a result of a mine explosion. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

«The boys went to get firewood in the plantation. At first, one blew up, while the Russians took him to Nova Kakhovka (Kherson region, note) the second came back in a wheelbarrow and also blew up,» says Lidiia Bratchenko, a resident of the village of Yevhenivka.

In a small village near Snihurivka in the Mykolayiv region lives the large Virovkin family. Brothers Ihor and Oleksandr take care of the household, raise children and even play football. You can't say that in the fall of 2022, during the occupation of the village by Russian soldiers, the brothers were blown up by petal mines left by the invaders on the road and lost their legs.

Ihor and Oleksandr shared their story with NikVesti.

They went to throw out garbage and collect firewood, but ended up in the hospital

Almost every day, local residents walked along the road leading to the forest strip behind the village. The Virovkin brothers live not far away, almost on the edge of Yevhenivka. The men collected the glass and other garbage that was in the yard in a wheelbarrow and, together with Igor's wife Yona, set off on their usual road in the direction of the forest strip. At the same time, they planned to collect firewood, as winter was approaching.

«We collected the glass in bags, put it on a wheelbarrow and went down the road. Slowly, little by little, they threw out the garbage, collected firewood and went back,» says the youngest of the brothers, Oleksandr.

Oleksandr Virovkin. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

The man did not have time to take even a few steps before he felt severe pain and fell to the ground. Because of his imprudence, the man stepped on a petal mine that the Russian military had scattered around the village. Oleksandr says that he was conscious the whole time and remembers everything in detail, from the moment of the explosion to the time he ended up in the hospital.

«When I stepped on it, I immediately fell. My brother ran up to me, and I told him: «I don't have a leg, how will I walk.» He picked me up, bandaged my leg with his daughter-in-law's jacket. At the moment of the explosion, I felt a ringing in my ears, my head started to hurt, and I felt dizzy,» says the man.

Ihor Virovkin's wife, Yona. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

«I return, Sasha shouts: «I don't have a leg.» The man was not confused, he said, give me the jacket. I quickly undressed, and he wrapped Sasha's leg with my jacket,» recalls Yona.

Without thinking, the woman ran to the Russian military in the hope that they would help transport the victim to the hospital. Yona remembers how the soldiers shouted and cursed at her, but still called an ambulance. The younger brother was taken to the hospital in Nova Kakhovka, the woman went with him. A few hours later, Oleksandr was informed that Igor had blown himself up in the same place and also lost his leg.

«I carried my brother out, and then I returned to the wheelbarrow and stepped forward myself. He twisted his leg, then the other, and passed twenty meters, I guess. Then the Russians noticed me and also took me away,» the man recalls.

Ihor Virovkin. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

Yona learned about her husband's injury when she returned to the village from the hospital. Although the couple agreed that Ihor would go home to the children, Yona did not find him at home. Children and parents also did not know where he was.

«A Russian soldier approaches me and says, is your husband an idiot? I immediately started asking what happened to him. And he tells me that the situation is even worse than with Sasha. Ihor promised to go home to the children, but for some reason he decided to return for the wheelbarrow and blew himself up almost at the same place, he just didn't make it,» she says.

The Russians took the man to the hospital to his brother, from there they were transported to Henichesk. In a few days, Yevhenivka was released by the Ukrainian military, and thanks to acquaintances, the family managed to find volunteers who took the brothers to Norway. Igor and Oleksandr underwent rehabilitation there, they were fitted with prostheses. Men had to learn to walk again.

Ihor and Yona have seven children. Today, the family lives on a disability pension — 7.5 thousand hryvnias (about $190).

The accident taught not only the Virovkin family, but also all fellow villagers to be more careful. Today, rescuers regularly come to Yevhenivka to explain to adults and children the rules for dealing with explosive objects. The Virovkin family also attends mine safety classes.

Circles, crosses and ticks: there are special marks on every yard in Yevhenivka

Driving through the streets of the village, special labels of different shapes and colors on the gates of literally every house immediately catch your eye. Yona explained how they differ. The letters «Z» were apparently left by Russian soldiers.

Crosses and rings were already left by sappers of the State Emergency Service, as they demined the village after de-occupation. The woman says that if you see a blue circle on the gate, the area is safe, which means sappers have already been there and checked the yard.

A label that means that there were deminers of the State Emergency Service. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

«5 cows blew up here»: Grandpa herding cows in a minefield

Not far from Yevhenivka, on the outskirts of Snihurivka, 72-year-old Bohdan Reshetniak grazes cows. Next to the man, we see a broken sign «Beware of mines» and the remains of ammunition.

Bohdan Reshethiak, a resident of Snihurivka. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

The man says that pyrotechnicians worked on this site, but they did not give a 100% guarantee that the field is safe. Despite this, with the onset of warm weather, Bohdan Reshetniak has to write off the cattle. The man was also unable to prepare a sufficient amount of hay due to landmines.

«There is no 100% guarantee, because after the war, mines are still being found for 100 years, well, yes, the sappers went around, demined, but they said that it is still not desirable,» says the man.

According to him, this is the only more or less safe place for livestock grazing, all other fields in the district remain mined. But even here recently, the neighbor's cows were blown up.

«We have already had 5 cows blown up here. We were sitting here playing cards, the cows went a little further into the field, we just heard an explosion, and that was it. Those were my neighbor's cows,» says the man.

Bohdan Reshetniak, a resident of Snihurivka. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

Bohdan Reshetniak says that during the two years of the war he saw with his own eyes about 50-60 mines. But the man assures that he knows how to behave properly in such situations.

«I have a phone number, I immediately put down my stick, don't get too close and call the emergency services,» he says.

What is the situation with demining in Snihurivka

Today, the Snihurivka community remains the territory of the Mykolaiv region most littered with explosive objects. It is here that the largest number of cases of detonation of civilians with munitions is recorded.

Ivan Kukhta, head of the Snihurivka city military administration. Photo: Alisa Melik-Adamian, NikVesti

The head of the Snihurivka city military administration, Ivan Kukhta, says that 10,000 hectares of land remain mined on the territory of the community, and the worst situation is with forest strips and agricultural fields.

«Our community is the most littered in terms of explosive objects. Now we need demining of about 10,000 hectares of land. In general, as regards the forest strips near Snihurivka and on the former contact line, the situation has not changed, unfortunately. These areas remain unverified,» says Ivan Kukhta.

Today, sappers of the State Emergency Service and the Ukrainian humanitarian demining program «The HALO Trust» are working on the territory of the community.

Recently, in order to speed up the process of clearing the community, the rescuers were given two machines for mechanized demining. According to Ivan Kukhta, the situation has improved a little, but there have been no drastic changes in the pace of deminers' work.

Sappers of the State Emergency Service are demining the fields near Snigurivka. Photo: Olena Kozubovska, NikVesti

We will remind that in the past year 2023, 17 people, including one child, died in the Mykolaiv Oblast due to the detonation of ammunition. The largest number of such cases occurred precisely in the Sniguriv community, including Yevgenivtsi.

On November 24, 2022, a case of mine detonation was recorded in the deoccupied Snihurivka community. As a result, there is a dead and injured among the employees of the State Emergency Service. Later, on December 15, 2022, in one of the villages of the community, a man found two anti-personnel mines left behind by the Russian military. The shells were detonated. A 26-year-old man died on the spot.

On April 22, 2022, in the town of Snihurivka, near the former mineral water plant, two residents of the community were blown up by an anti-personnel mine. Later, on September 20, 2023 , a car carrying two men was blown up by a mine. One of them died on the spot, the second man was hospitalized.

On October 11, 2023, a mine exploded in a field near the town of Snihurivka. The driver was injured as a result of the explosion and is in the hospital. Also, on February 1, 2024 , four people were detonated by a mine near the village of Yevhenivka in the Mykolaiv region.

On March 5, 2024, a 38-year-old man blew himself up in the village of Bezimenne, Snihurivka community, Bashtanka district. In addition, in the Snihurivka region, the pyrotechnic group of the State Emergency Service demined the area where a cow was blown up by an explosive device.