The village of Andriivka is located 50 kilometers from Kyiv. The village’s main street is Oleksii Mel — the road connecting Borodianka and Makariv, two other towns with a tragic history. Russian troops moved along this road, trying to break through to Kyiv from the Belarusian border. Makariv was fired upon from the territory of Andriivka. The village occupation lasted from 27 February to 30 March 2022.
In the village, there were soldiers of the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Armed Forces under the leadership of Azatbek Omurbekov. It was this brigade that committed atrocities in Bucha, and subsequently, President Putin awarded Omurbekov the title of Hero of Russia and promoted him to a higher rank.
Tetiana Adolfivna Kutsenko is one of the victims of the occupiers’ actions.
According to official statistics, Russian soldiers killed 14 civilians in Andriivka. Most of them were murdered in their backyards, with their hands tied. Three people died from the bombings, and two died from lack of medical care and medications; more than 40 are listed as missing. The Russians interrogated all men under 50.
Even those who were directly involved in murders and robberies do not hide the fact that they committed crimes against civilians. One of them is Danyil Frolkin, who boasted in a photo about Second World War medals stolen from a resident, and he also admitted that, on the orders of the commander, he shot 46-year-old resident Ruslan Yaremchuk.
After a short evacuation, Tetiana returned to her native village. The woman found a lot of grenades and cartridges in her well and saw bloody furniture in the house. Prisoners were kept in her cellar, and people were tortured and killed in the house.
“We left for two weeks. And when we arrived, the whole house was covered in blood. The bathtub was shot through, and I found a lot of shell casings there. People were killed in the bathtub. I found a woman’s earring there. They say that a woman was dragged into my house. The whole room was covered in blood. They killed in my house, threw bodies over the fence, and people say they burned the bodies there,” — says Tetiana Kutsenko.
As in other occupied villages, the Russians kicked people out of their homes, forbade them to use mobile phones under pain of execution, set up dugouts in the courtyards, stole food and valuables from the farmers, and retreated, leaving behind devastation and conflagration. Tetiana’s house was also damaged.
“They shot at the doors and gates. Five doors were broken because they were locked. Many fields were burned. A tank ran over my husband’s car. Everything was shot at. Everything has been taken out of the house. My husband’s tools were taken.”
Not a single surviving house is left in Andriivka, while 70 houses were completely destroyed. As the chairman of the Makariv village council, Vadym Tokar reported in his telegram channel that in September 2023, a restored gymnasium and kindergarten opened in Andriivka. Both were completely destroyed.
Charitable funds are involved in the restoration of the village. In particular, the American businessman and philanthropist and one of the biggest donors to “To Ukraine with Love” Charitable Foundation, Dell Loy Hansen, recently visited Andriivka for the second time to discuss the construction of 32 houses for families who have lost their homes.
According to the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, the damage to Andriivka reaches about $15.3 million. However, hardly anyone is able to assess the moral damage and intimidation the locals endured.
“I suffered both mentally and physically. A great misfortune has come to our land,” — sums up Tetiana Kutsenko.
The article was prepared by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group with the support of the "
