Valentyna and her neighbor rescued three Ukrainian tankers during the occupation of Chernihiv region. Their commanders no longer thought they would see the men alive. 

On March 9, 2022, a heavy seven-hour battle for the village of Lukashivka took place. More than a dozen Ukrainian defenders were killed that day. The survivors retreated. But three tankers of the 1st Separate Tank Siverska Brigade were surrounded by the occupiers: Vitaliy, Oleksandr and Serhiy. Their tank was hit, and the soldiers barely escaped from the battlefield.

Valentyna and her neighbor hid the tankers at home for almost a week, and then helped them get to their homes. But as soon as the tankers left the doorway, the russians swooped in and searched Valentyna and her neighbor's house. The women’s lives hung in the balance. The situation was saved by... a few bottles of cognac.

Valentyna entrusted her story to the Museum and told us how the fate of the tankers developed.