Sheltered 24 cats and 13 dogs that were abandoned in the occupation. Report from Ternovi Pody

Broken houses after the occupation in Ternovi Pody. Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

Yevdokiia and Viktor Saveliev lived in their house in Ternovi Pody for 43 years. They lived at the expense of the farm, the husband was engaged in beekeeping and exported honey abroad. The occupation forced the couple to leave their home, farm and everything the family had earned for years. When Yevdokiia and Viktor returned home, only a destroyed house awaited them, and nothing remained of the household.

The Russians occupied the village at the beginning of a full-scale war. Until November 2022, Ternovi Pody was under the control of the Russian army. After the de-occupation of the village by the Ukrainian military, only 8 residents returned here.

NikVesti visited Ternovi Pody and asked the locals what life is like in the village today.

They sheltered 24 abandoned cats and 13 dogs

Among the completely destroyed houses, on the far street of a small village, the house of Yevdokia and Viktor Saveliev can be seen. Looking at the look of the house and the yard, it's hard to tell that there were ruins here very recently.

«We returned here on March 12, 2023. There weren't just words, everything was broken. I made up my mind that our village would be whole. But, as you can see,» the woman says.

Yevdokiia Savelieva, a resident of the village of Ternovi Pody. Screenshot from the report

The couple had to leave Ternovi Pody because of the injuries Viktor received in June 2022 as a result of an impact on the house. Yevdokiia says that the man was covered by the wall of the house, which collapsed after being hit by a projectile.

«We had to go because he was seriously injured, his eye and back had to be treated,» says Yevdokiia.

Before the full-scale war, the Saveliev family had a large farm: cows, goats, chickens, pigs. Today, the family can also boast of its farm, the couple sheltered 24 cats and 13 dogs, which were abandoned by their owners during the occupation.

«We have 24 cats, 13 dogs. Well, there is a goat, three kids, one cow and four calves. This is our entire household now,» says the woman with a smile on her face.

Yevdokiia Savelieva shows her large farm. Screenshot from the report

Before the occupation of Ternovi Pody, Viktor had his own apiary, the man exported honey abroad. Today, Viktor hopes to restore his beekeeping, with which he is helped by benefactors within the «Help on Bee Wings» program.

«I had an apiary, 30 families. I had good families, tribal ones. I have been doing them for 25 years. And only 5 families remained from my apiary. The beekeepers of Transcarpathia united, they learned that we have such a problem. They helped us with bee packages, brought bee feed for free,» says Victor.

Within the framework of the «eVidnovlennia» program, the Saveliev couple received 500,000 hryvnias for the reconstruction of their home.

«I had a nice house before the war, and now it's even better,» Viktor says.

Yevdokiia's husband Viktor Saveliev. Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

Yevdokiia and Viktor had to complete the renovations inside the house. The Russian dugout that the occupiers dug under the house is a daily reminder of the horrors of the occupation.

«I'm going down, I'm 165 centimeters tall, and I could still raise my arms. What was not there, I tell you. They stretched carpets and pillows. Well, the main thing is that the honey comb and masks for bees must have pumped honey,» recalls Yevdokiia.

Boxes of Russian ammunition instead of building materials

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At the entrance to Ternovi Pody, we are met by Oleksandr Voskoboinyk, who is sitting near the house, next to the man is a sign «Beware of mines».

The husband and his wife, Larisa, moved to Ternovi Pody in December 2022. Volodymyr was born in this house but lived in Kherson. However, to escape from shelling, the couple had to evacuate from Kherson.

Oleksandr shows the roof of the house, which he made himself from shell boxes that the Russians left behind when fleeing the village.

«With my younger brother Serhii, we took a risk and went to the forest plantations, in the dugout. They collected boards from under the shells. And, as you can see, they made a pediment for themselves from the enemy's boards,» says the man.

Oleksandr Voskoboinyk shows the pediment he made from boards from shells. Screenshot from the report

Meanwhile, Oleksandr and his wife live with neighbors who have more or less restored their house. A man is waiting for better weather to start repairs in his own house.

«European Solidarity» allocated help to us. We were allocated money entirely for covering the roof, windows, and doors. So, we are waiting for the best weather and we will work,» says the man.

Oleksandr's house, which was damaged by the arrivals. Screenshot from the report

They lay on the street for 4 months: a couple died as a result of shelling in Ternovi Pody

Oleksandr Voskoboynyk shows a nearby house, says that his uncle Serhii and his wife Sofiia died here. Oleksandr managed to bury his relatives already in the winter, when Ternovi Pody was deoccupied. From September 3 to December, a man and a woman lay under rubble in their own yard.

The house where Oleksandr's uncle and his wife died. Screenshot from the report

«This is where the uncle was lying, and the aunt was lying on the right. We learned from a neighbor. On that day, the Russians were loading them into a car to take them to Kherson, she ran to her uncle and aunt and saw that they had died. Then she called us,» the man recalls.

The military allowed Oleksandr to enter the village only in December. The man remembers how he saw the bodies of his relatives, with almost nothing left except clothes.

Oleksandr shows the place where his relatives died. Screenshot from the report

There is no water in the village: how residents cope

The biggest problem for the residents of Ternovi Pody today is the lack of water supply. The village has all communications — electricity, gas, mobile communications. But two water towers were destroyed as a result of shelling.

Villagers have to travel to the city for water. Yevdokiia Savelieva says that without water it is very difficult with a farm like hers. According to the woman, there is a well in the village, but it is not possible to drink water from it now.

«People left, leaving pigs, cows... The summer was hot, there was no water. Animals wanted to drink and drowned there. «We still catch what's floating there,» says Evdokiia.

There is no water supply in Ternovi Pody. Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

The residents do not know when the water supply will be restored in the village.

Farmers are demining their fields to get back to work

Due to the impasse, local farmers are trying to demine their plots of land on their own. Ivan Kyrykovych, a farmer from Zelenyi Hai, helps an acquaintance from Ternovi Pody. The man and his team have already cultivated 60 hectares of land here.

«An acquaintance asked us, he can't cope with his fields, to help him demine a little here, to work. We found three cumulative cassettes here, two RPGs and so much scrap metal, garbage,» says the man.

Ivan Kyrykovych, a farmer from Zelenyi Hai. Screenshot from the report

Ivan says that sappers do not have time to demine the land, and farmers need to work and sow their fields.

«The rescuers don't have time to cover all the fields, so they have to walk, search, and clear mines on their own. It will be checked to say correctly, not demining. If sappers pass these fields in the middle of summer, then the year will already be wasted, we will not sow anything. We need to go into the field now in the spring, process everything in order to stay afloat this year,» says the farmer.

Every 10 meters in Ternovi Pody there are signs «Beware of mines». Almost a year and a half has passed since the day of deoccupation of the village, but even now the inhabitants of Ternovy Pod cannot move freely through the village. Houses where the owners have still returned remain mined, as they are not a priority for the work of sappers. Despite this, life in the village continues. All those who returned to Ternovi Pody are not giving up and are rebuilding their homes little by little.

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