236 days of occupation, terror and faith in return: how the Armed Forces liberated Snihurivka from the Russian occupiers

At dawn on March 19, several powerful explosions were heard in the city of Snigurivka, Mykolaiv region. At the place of arrival of the Russian rockets, there are eruptions, and a raging smoke can be seen above the city. In a few hours, the local media will write: the enemy has occupied the city. This will be followed by more than 200 days of occupation, terror, partisanship and expectations, until on November 10, 2022, it will be known: Snigurivshchyna has been liberated.

"NikVesti» tells about how the locals lasted 8 months under the control of the Russian Federation and by whose forces the community was liberated.

The first reports about the beginning of the offensive on the positions of the Russian troops in Sniiurivka began to appear on November 8. Attacks on the city took place from the north and east. In order to impede the advance of the Armed Forces, the Russians began to actively blow up bridge crossings.

The retreat was explained by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation by the difficulties of supplying the army on the right bank of the Dnieper, where Kherson is located.

Sniiurivka was released by the forces of 131 separate reconnaissance battalion. The combat medic of the special purpose reconnaissance platoon, who was part of the battalion at the time, recalls that a month and a half before the liberation, the Russians tried to cover their positions with artillery, but they failed to stop the attack.

— For 1.5 months, we literally caught mine shells. Subsequently, after a long work of artillery, aviation measures, we went on the offensive and began to cut off the supply of the Russians, their routes for rotation. They began to retreat, fearing to be surrounded. We already followed the remnants of those who did not have time to leave, went to Sniiurivka, and finished them off with other units. There were many comrades-in-arms there (meaning the Russian military, note) who had no contact, were sitting in the landing, they knew that the Russians had left, and were already surrounded by the Armed Forces. There were many such cases. About 10 people were captured among the Russian military in different areas. And how many there were all over the right bank, no one will remember. In front of Snihurivka, we were in positions in the villages of Maksymivka, Vavylove, and Tsentralne — they are all in the same direction. Their positions were not far. And these were far from «dumb Russians», they were educated, trained people, the problem was that there were many of them. «We often underestimate the enemy, and it's in vain,» — he says.

Photos from the military archive, which he provided to «Nykvesta"

Photos from the military archive, which he provided to «Nykvesta"

A significant role in the liberation of the city and the destruction of enemy positions was played by the residents, who made considerable efforts, not having a stable connection, in order to inform the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation about the locations of the Russian troops.

— They were in my field of attention all the time. Only if there was a change of location, or someone stopped by, I went up to the highest point, a tree, a ladder, a roof and caught the connection, called ours. Yes, with the understanding that this is a risk and can be seen or reported, but we had no other option. We could not waste time, — recalls Oleksandr, a local resident of the community.

ZSU in Snigurivka, November 10

Despite the clear pro-Ukrainian position of the locals, there were those who supported the occupiers by siding with them.

Valentyn Shmygelskyi, a doctor at the Snihurivka hospital, who remained in the occupation until the end of April, recalls that there were many cases of cooperation of representatives of various institutions with the enemy. And he immediately adds that none of the doctors started working for the enemy.

The staff of the hospital in Snigurivka on the day of release. Photo: V. Shmygelsky

— On the first day, they came to me, talked, then we went outside, there were 150 of them, there was heavy equipment. I asked them why they came to us, did they have little land of their own, we lived here peacefully and did not touch anyone. And they answer that they did not come to take the land, but to fight the Nazis. They began to put moral pressure on me. The Russians thought they would intimidate us, but no one gave any names of our soldiers. Instead, we started preparing wounded soldiers for evacuation, forged documents. Some even asked us to destroy their documents so that no one would know their names. In Snihurivka, people were betrayed by the police, teachers, and some executive authorities, but not by hospital employees!, — says the doctor.

In April, inspections and interrogations of employees and patients began at the medical facility. On Easter, the Russians came with a search first to the hospital, and then to the husband's apartment. After several hours of questioning, he was offered to leave Snow White within 24 hours.

— I don't know why they left me alive then. But I am proud of the fact that no one from our military, Teroboron and ATO was taken from the hospital. I was the only person who left the hospital in handcuffs, having previously spent time in a cell, — adds Valentyn Shmygelskyi.

A house in a high-rise district in Snigurivka

According to official data, it is known that over 2,000 buildings, 40 apartment buildings, and 20 educational institutions were damaged or destroyed during active fighting during the entire period of occupation.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Visti Snihurivshchyna» Ihor Novikov said that due to the attack, the premises of the newspaper's editorial office were significantly damaged, and property was stolen.

— Many buildings were damaged. Our editorial office was badly damaged, there were no windows, everything was turned upside down. The property was taken away. There was a car, it was also taken by the orcs. They searched for a long time, but it was not possible to find her, — says the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

In addition to living under systematic shelling, the residents of Snihurivka had to survive for 8 months without electricity, gas and water. After getting rid of the «Russian world», civilization began to return to Snihurivka.

The people of Snigurch meet the Ukrainian military

People remember that the work in this area was slow, it took a week for the specialists of «Mykolayivoblenerho» to provide light to at least one of the microdistricts of the city.

— There was natural gas, I don't know if they turned it off or turned it off. There was no water, no light, nothing. That's how they lived, — the locals told with tears in their eyes on the day of liberation.

Head of Snigurivska MBA Ivan Kukhta

It was known about who will head the future military administration of Snihurivka even before the Ukrainian military entered the city. According to Ivan Kukhta, his direct participation in all processes and communication of the city and regional leadership influenced the decision of the authorities.

— It's no secret that Snow White is my home. Before that, I was an elected deputy of the community of Snihurivka. This decision was influenced by the fact that from the first days I took care of the city, helped in various directions, both humanitarian and evacuation. Therefore, I think, it was decided that I would do it. Communication between Snigurivka and the regional authorities during the occupation took place through me, — says the official.

According to the calculations of the head of the military administration, about 12,000 people lived in Snihurivka before the full-scale invasion of Russia. About 7,000 people live in the city, and up to 14,000 in the community.

A day before the liberation of the city, the Ukrainian authorities and the military called for only one thing — informational silence.

On the morning of November 10, an icon of a snowdrop bird appeared in the Telegram channel of the head of the President's Office, Andrii Yarmak, apparently hinting at the release of Snow White.

After that, an already legendary video appeared on the network, in which fighters of the 131st reconnaissance battalion of the Armed Forces report on the liberation of the settlement.

— To be honest, at that time we were constantly receiving a lot of information about the whereabouts of the Russians. So it's not like I felt anything right away. At first, there was no such euphoria. It came after 6-8 hours after release. Even later, there was an understanding that we had entered, that people had been waiting for us for almost a year. Just as people are still waiting for us in Kerch, Yalta, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk. They exist and have not disappeared. These are our Ukrainians who have to return home, — assured the military special forces intelligence platoon.

Currently, the Snihurivka community continues to recover from the consequences of the occupation. When talking about this time, the local people remember with special warmth and are grateful to those who freed them from the enemy, paying for it with the most precious thing — their lives.

Alisa Melik-Adamyan, NikVesti