The villages of Yuhanivka and Kolesnikovka are located 30 km North-East of Luhansk on the border with the Russian Federation. A small river called Derkul draws the border line, that can be forded easily in many different points. That is where stands the farther Ukrainian border post, that the rebels and Russian militaries did not succeed to take during spring and summer of last year.
“We’ve been massively shelled from Russia.
August 2015. Yuhanivka. Luhansk region
“These rockets and fire were going above us, grandchildren were here, they got scared, started to hide”. It was so loud because of tanks. My son-in-law, he’s young, went there to have a look what’s going on, and there were tanks, and APCs…”
– Was it coming from Russia?
– Yes, right behind the river… And then they went a bit rather back.
Only 100 meters separate the closest Russian village – Manotsky farm – from Yuhanivka, and less than 10 kilometers to the biggest settlement, Stanitsa Mityakinskaya, in the surroundings of which a big Russian military base built last year.
From there and from the outskirts of the Russian village Yelan, 4 km North-East of Kolesnikovka, the Russian artillery was operating.
July 2014. Gukovo village. Rostov region. Russia
People living on the border villages on the Ukrainian as well as Russian side, and the many refugees from the conflict zone testify these facts.
The aim point of the Russian’s artillery were the Ukrainian frontier posts in Kolesnikovka and Kamyshnoe. Later, when the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) forces got closer to Stanitsa Luhanska, captured by rebels (15 kilometers west from Kolesnikovka), the goals become also the fortified place of the Ukrainian army at the approaches to villages Makarovo, Valuyskoe, Nizhnia and Verkhnia Ol’khova. Then, in August, Stanitsa Luhanska was under fire being already liberated.
August 2015. Luhansk region.
– There were shellings from Russia. Here, here is where it landed. Our neighbors have the same craters on their land.
– What’s there, in that direction?
– Forest.
– And then?
– And then there are houses…
– And then?
– And then there is the Derkul river and… Russia.
– We hid in the house during a shelling and shrapnel hit the window.
– First there were “Grads” and then mines. “Grad” missile hit in a tree, because of shockwave the car has no windows…
– I have loads of shrapnel pieces from “Grad” missiles, which I gathered on my land.
– Villagers of kolesnikovka found them.
The massive shellings of the Ukrainian positions from Russia lasted two months in the summer 2014. This tactic was first used by Russian militaries at the beginning of July, when the anti-trrorist operation forces (ATO) started to successfully oust soldiers from the occupied territories and tried to regain control onthe state borders.
July 2014. Savur-Mohyla. Donetsk region
“There, there were fireshots from the Russian positions in settlements of Seleznev, Novoruskoe and Ushakovka. The shots of the Russian artillery were particularly powerful on the Ukrainian parts, as soldiers were trying to take control of the strategic pillar of Savur-Mohyla and landing inthe rear of soldiers and Russian divisions.
Most of the people that bear witness of the shellings from Russia cannot tell anything of these crimes, because they live in the territories controlled by the rebels. However, during the last year and a half, for some reason, neither the Ukrainian investigation organs, nor the international observation missions asked hundreds of witnesses living in the nowadays safe territories controlled by Ukraine in the region of Luhansk.
Yuhanivka.Luhansk region
– Has police or prosecutors asked you anything regarding shells?
– No, no one came here even once, they even try to proove it was friendly fire.
– I haven’t heard a single time the OSCE asking about that…
– And what about the police?
– No, nothing.
– Maybe they asked your neighbors?
– I don’t know…
August 2015. Kolesnikovka. Luhansk region
– Nope.
– No one even has been here.