“The Russians shot cars with civilians on the move”: a teacher from Borodyanka spoke about the occupation she experienced

Borodyanka resident Iryna Shashenko survived the occupation of the village at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Her apartment was owned by Russians, she was never able to evacuate from the settlement. The woman shared her memories of the occupation she experienced. Iryna Shashenko is a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature at the Borodyansk school. He recalls that none of his colleagues went to work on February 24, 2022. Some of the employees of the educational institution lived in neighboring villages. To keep in touch, colleagues created a group in social networks.

“A person writes: “The beginning of the column”. So we understand that in 15 minutes this column will be near us. There were 300 or 500 units of military equipment in the columns. It happened that the beginning of the column was in Irpen, and the “tail” – in Borodyanka,” recalls a resident of Borodyanka.

The village was under constant shelling by the Russians. The Russians used aerial bombs and missiles. The streets of Borodyanka turned into ruins every day. One day, Iryna Shashenko and her family decided to evacuate, but their car was destroyed by a Russian strike. However, the evacuation from Borodyanka to a safe place resembled a lottery for survival. Locals in their own cars became targets of Russian troops.

“Cars were shot on the move. The Russians killed civilians who tried to leave. While the occupation lasted, these cars with corpses stood on the road,” says the woman.

When the Russians completely occupied the village, the airstrikes and rocket attacks stopped. Instead, the Russian military went to the apartments. The Russians did not miss Iryna’s house either. At that time, the woman and her family were sheltered by friends. In the woman’s apartment, the Russians overturned everything, robbed and imitated.

“There were Belarusians, Russians, and Kadyrov residents here. I understand that they had to eat, live somewhere. Spoons, knives, carpets, mattresses disappeared from my apartment,” Iryna admitted.

The occupation ended with the liberation of Borodyanka. Iryna Shashenko and her family never dared to leave. Although the horror she experienced still lingers in her memory, the woman is sure that the Ukrainians will certainly drive the Russians out of their land, as was the case in her native Borodyanka.