Hiding in a beet pit: how a grandmother in Uhroidy, Sumy Region, escapes Russian shelling

Tatyana Zhizha is from Belarus, she is 69 years old. She lived in Uhroidy for the last 50 years. He has a house and a garden here. Now the woman has to hide from Russian shelling.

“When the whistle blows – we immediately fall, and then we get up – and run into the pit… I am sitting in the pit there. This has already killed a boy here, now this girl,” says Tetyana Zhizha, a resident of Uhroidiv.

“This is my city. Already cleaned. I will plow and go. Children scream every day, even if you go today. I say – I will sit still. I will plow the garden – then I will leave,” says the woman.

The grandmother says that she will have to move because of shelling: Russian troops attack the village almost every day. She hides from explosions in a beet pit.

“I hear a bang, I immediately get up and close the door. I crawl into a corner and sit. And I will soon, soon. And when I see what’s going on nearby, I hide downstairs, who knows where,” the woman explains.

The cellar is more than two meters deep, instead of stairs – a metal ladder. Earlier, the pit was used for vegetable garden. For the past year and a half, Mrs. Tatyana has been hiding next to carrots and beets every day.

“There is not a day when there are no “arrivals”. Not there, yes there, you can hear it everywhere! It’s still warm, but yes, I’ll bring some clothes here and sit. If at night, I will sit all night,” says Tetyana Zhizha.

During the shelling, a woman sits on a wooden board she made with her own hands. Earlier, the grandmother says, she hid with a neighbor, then her husband left.

I learned to live next to constant danger. The main thing is to be alert every second, adds Ms. Tatiana.

Tatyana used to keep cattle. After the start of a full-scale war, only poultry remained.

“The man died. I have been living alone for 10 years. I also kept a wild boar – I slaughtered it this year, but then I didn’t take it anymore. Because it’s war. And how will you have to run away – where will the pig go?”, says the grandmother.

In addition to the poultry, the woman herself takes care of the yard and the house. He adds that there is time for work, but there is no effort.

“Nothing has been done for two years. There is no repair – hands do not lie. I think – what to do with him, if God forbid what. And then – I would paint it, I would do everything – I don’t want to,” says Ms. Tetyana.

The woman shares her hope that the war will end soon. In the village, he says, he has everything for life.

“There is plenty of food, everything. Nothing to anger God! Everything is full! Everything was grown in the garden, and we will find potatoes. They give a pension – let’s buy something. There is light, there is gas, there is water – thank God. So that they don’t shoot!”, – explains Mrs. Tatiana.