Stories that you confided to us
Anatolii Hryhorovych and Anna Aadriivna Avdiiev lived together for 60 years. A 78-year-old woman had a stroke because of the war. Her husband takes care of her and is afraid to die first. He wishes the war ended and he stayed with his beloved wife as long as possible.
I never thought there would be a war. We saw some military going by. There was some military machinery, but we didn't think there would be a war. We could feel it in 2014 when military operations began. Attacks happened at night. Shells and mines flew around. The war was on.
We can't just leave each other. She was born in 1937, I was born in 1935. We met when I came from the army. Three months later, we got married. Every time I look in the mirror, I see her. She was like me! She was hard-working. She always found some work to do. She worked at the station for 33 years. All this time she worked as a fuel supply machine operator. I worked as a welder. My employment record is 37 years.
My son died in a car accident. He was a passenger. He died in 1988. Well, now we live together, only two of us.
I never thought there would be a war. We saw some military going by. There was some military machinery, but we didn't think there would be a war. We could feel it in 2014 when military operations began. Attacks happened at night. Shells and mines flew around. The war was on.
We thought we were going to die. I was sitting next to my wife when a mine exploded next door. All the windows shattered and fell on her. We covered the window with pillows. We already had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, because the mines started exploding in the village. Five pieces have already exploded in this area, literally 200-300 meters away. We hid in the basement all the time. When they started shooting, we went down. When the attacks stopped, we came up.
A mine hit the house across the street. The windows were broken, as well as the slate. Wife was terrified. She had a stroke in the basement.
It happened on 25 September 2019, five years ago. I lost her. She can't walk or talk. Her right side is paralyzed. I fall asleep here, next to her. I go to the bedroom when she's asleep.
We had no heating, no water, no electricity. We have a well, however, water there not drinking. It is feed water. The most thing we fear is that our village of Myronivskiy will die out. What will we do then?
Almost half of the citizens left when the military actions began. Some went to relatives to Kharkiv Oblast. Well, we didn't have that opportunity, and we didn't think about it. I had nowhere to go with a paralysed wife. She is all I have, so I have to take care of her.
I can cook. I can make rice porridge, milk porridge, soups. I make tasteful borscht. I can make potatoes, roast potatoes.
We pray for Rinat Akhmetov, that he did not leave us in trouble. We spend all our money on medicines and basic things. He helps us a lot. We get sunflower oil, and rice, well, everything. This is major help for us.
We want the war to end. That's all. I wish our lives were like they were before. I wish we would live peacefully. I wish this would end. Frankly speaking, I want my grandmother to be buried here. I wish I would die then, too. This is what I dream of. Who will take care of her if I die first. Who will she stay with? We lived together for 60 years. We got married in 1959. And if I leave, she won't survive. We can't just leave each other.
When quoting a story, a reference to the source – the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – is mandatory, as follows:
The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/
