Bucha and Irpin: stories from hell near Kyiv

The Kyiv region took the blow from Russia on February 24, 2022. Ukraine resisted the Russian army in the western suburbs of Kyiv - in Irpin, Bucha, Hostomyl. After the defeat of the Russian invaders and the withdrawal of enemy troops from the territory of the occupied places on April 2, 2022, the terrible truth was revealed about what atrocities the occupiers committed with the civilian population in this territory. The Museum "Civilian Voices" has collected unique first-hand stories into a collection.

When we were leaving Bucha, there were corpses piled up all around
06.10.2024
Bisova Margarita
"When we were leaving Bucha, there were corpses piled up all around"
“In Bucha, Yablunska Street was covered with corpses. I still don’t understand how we survived”
20.06.2024
Angelina Bartosz
“In Bucha, Yablunska Street was covered with corpses. I still don’t understand how we survived”
“There were a lot of deaths that day. I buried my friend in the school yard”
24.06.2022
Yuriy Prokhorenko
“There were a lot of deaths that day. I buried my friend in the school yard”
A pram and the bodies of children wrapped in sheets are being carried on it
23.06.2022
Elena Yarmolenko
"A pram and the bodies of children wrapped in sheets are being carried on it"
“In Bucha, our film crew found the corpses of locals who had been lying there for several weeks. And in the camp there was a real torture chamber”
13.06.2022
Vitaliy Lytvyn
“In Bucha, our film crew found the corpses of locals who had been lying there for several weeks. And in the camp there was a real torture chamber”
“The bodies in Bucha were lying on the roadsides”
01.07.2022
Ihor Sereda
“The bodies in Bucha were lying on the roadsides”
Oleksander Krolikowski: “Inside the refrigerator truck, we had to walk over human bodies. And we apologized to the dead for this”
13.06.2022
Оlexander Krolikowski
Oleksander Krolikowski: “Inside the refrigerator truck, we had to walk over human bodies. And we apologized to the dead for this”
Kateryna AMOSOVA: When we left Irpin, we had 40 cats in our trailer...
13.08.2022
Kateryna Amosova
Kateryna AMOSOVA: "When we left Irpin, we had 40 cats in our trailer..."
Saving our birds was just a real feat
23.08.2022
Natalia Ivanova
"Saving our birds was just a real feat"
“There were a lot of deaths that day. I buried my friend in the school yard”
24.06.2022
Yuriy Prokhorenko
“There were a lot of deaths that day. I buried my friend in the school yard”
All the dogs in this photo now live abroad!
23.06.2022
Anastasiya Tikhaya
"All the dogs in this photo now live abroad!"
The child died at once, but the woman was still alive. Then the suitcase caught fire and they burned down
15.06.2022
Roman Mohylanets
"The child died at once, but the woman was still alive. Then the suitcase caught fire and they burned down"
The most difficult part is to find a pet. They hid inside the walls and even in the ceiling
15.06.2022
Alexey Surovtsev
"The most difficult part is to find a pet. They hid inside the walls and even in the ceiling"
It wont be any better now. Only worse
27.11.2020
Dmytro Anatoliiovych and Mariia Vasylivna Lednovs
"It won't be any better now. Only worse"
It didnt get here. It means that we can live a little until the next attack happens
13.01.2021
Iryna and Ivan Sarbash
"It didn't get here. It means that we can live a little until the next attack happens"
I hope for the best – I want to raise my grandchildren
21.01.2021
Zinaida Lestnikova
"I hope for the best – I want to raise my grandchildren"
«They placed women and children on top of military vehicles and used them as human shield»
05.08.2022
Alina Stepaniuk
«They placed women and children on top of military vehicles and used them as human shield»
When we got to the Ukrainian checkpoint, all the passengers on the bus were crying
11.07.2022
Valery Malyshevsky
"When we got to the Ukrainian checkpoint, all the passengers on the bus were crying"
Olha, don’t you know your mother? I can move mountains
13.06.2022
Iryna Filkina
"Olha, don’t you know your mother? I can move mountains"
Why you have to get out of here alive?
19.06.2022
Sergei Bakhtin
"Why you have to get out of here alive?"
 “For some reason, the sniper decided to shoot particularly at my mother. The bullet hit right in her forehead...”
13.05.2022
Tatyana Sichkar
“For some reason, the sniper decided to shoot particularly at my mother. The bullet hit right in her forehead...”
“Mum, they shot us and killed our dad...”
14.05.2022
Alla Nechiporenko
“Mum, they shot us and killed our dad...”
In Bucha, we wrapped ourselves in all white and shouted for them not to kill us
13.05.2022
Dmitry Mukhin
"In Bucha, we wrapped ourselves in all white and shouted for them not to kill us"
The daughter of a woman with red nail varnish killed in Bucha. “Her last words were: “Mum loves you”
19.05.2022
Olga Shchiruk
The daughter of a woman with red nail varnish killed in Bucha. “Her last words were: “Mum loves you”
Yevhen Synelnykov: I gave an autograph under the barrel of a machine gun: not a very good feeling...
06.07.2022
Evgeny Sinelnikov
Yevhen Synelnykov: "I gave an autograph under the barrel of a machine gun: not a very good feeling..."
Athlete Iryna Sitnikova: I had to teach myself not to cry during the performance
27.05.2022
Irina Sitnikova
Athlete Iryna Sitnikova: "I had to teach myself not to cry during the performance"
War diary from Bucha “The Chronicle of Three Windows”
07.10.2022
Oleksiy Tarasevich
War diary from Bucha “The Chronicle of Three Windows”
My children were lying on the asphalt road. They were dead…
06.04.2022
Serhiy Perebyinis
"My children were lying on the asphalt road. They were dead…"
I won’t forgive them for my praying mother sitting on an apple cart!
11.04.2022
Sergey Sotnichenko
"I won’t forgive them for my praying mother sitting on an apple cart!"
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