...
B.T. in Ukraine: Here whole city is almost wiped out - 'the Russian soldiers shot pretty much all the young men they could find' | BT Abroad - www.bt.dk Bax Lindhardt Before Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, not many people knew about the small village of Andriivka. But since the Russian troops withdrew a few weeks ago, the city of a few hundred inhabitants has become a name that the vast majority of Ukrainians have heard. For Andriivka, located about an hour's drive from central Kyiv, has become known as the city that has been destroyed most by the Russian ravages around Kyiv. And it's clear why, when B.T. visiting the city. One of the first sightings that B.T.'s emissaries encounter is a long queue at one of the village's central houses. Emergency aid is distributed here. The next few minutes go by slowly driving along the city's main street, where one bombed-out house is replaced by the other. Several houses are still standing, but none of the houses have escaped without significant damage. The worst affected houses are ruins with nothing left but brick. Da B.T. make stops, we meet the local resident Victor. He is 75 years old and has lived in Andriivka all his life. 75-year-old Victor witnessed the Russian invasion up close when the invading army captured and bombed his hometown. He considers himself to be among the lucky ones in the city. “You can safely say I have been lucky. My house is still standing, but the neighbor's house is completely destroyed, "says Victor. That statement is almost an understatement. Because while Victor's white house still stands up, there are only rubble left of the neighbor's. A burnt-out car stands in what used to be the driveway. Not far away are the remains of what was once a sink and an oven. One of many totally destroyed houses in the Ukrainian village of Andriivka. Victor was present when the Russian troops arrived in the city already on the day of the invasion of Ukraine. And he stayed there along the way. The majority of the remaining inhabitants of the city are elderly people. There is a good reason for that, Victor explains. “The Russian soldiers shot pretty much all the young men they could find. And when they ran out of rations, they stole our food and shot our cows and chickens, ”he says. For the next many days, the Russians used Andriivka as a homeland. A Russian soldier even slept in Victor's basement. The things that 75-year-old Victor has heard the Russian soldiers talk about are in good agreement with other reports from Ukraine. A wrecked Russian tank is parked in a field on the outskirts of the bombed-out village of Andriivka. ‘There was a young Russian soldier who was sitting on a bench in my garden and called home to his mother and said‘ Mother, there is war here. We should only have been here for a few days, now a month has passed. Putin has lied to us ’,” explains Victor, who also overheard another Russian soldier calling home and recounting how rich the Ukrainians were with “washing machines and houses of bricks,” as the 75-year-old puts it. Reconstruction of Andriivka has not yet begun, as can be seen elsewhere around Kyiv. However, the locals have received some help from the Ukrainian defense. This can be seen on gates, lampposts and fences throughout the city. The village of Andriivka outside Kyiv was occupied behind the Russians for more than three weeks. The Russians destroyed most of the town's houses, killed the young men, stole everything of value and slaughtered the livestock due to lack of food. In some places a yellow dot has been painted. These are the lucky ones. For here the Ukrainian deminers have been over and secured the dwelling. At the houses where yellow exclamation marks and question marks have been painted, the story is different. Here there is still a risk of encountering an unexploded ordnance or mine. The blue gate into Victor's grounds has both. SPORT EXPERT New tracks SPORT abroad B.T. in Ukraine Media berlingske abroad Berlingske Media A / S Pilestræde 34 DK-1147 Copenhagen KTlf. +45 33 75 75 33 CVR.no .: 29 20 73 13