In March 2021, ATO veteran Dmytro Dmytrenko, together with his wife (a person with a disability) and 11-year-old son, bought a house in the quiet village of Vablia in Kyiv region. A year later, this village became a transit corridor for enemy columns. When the occupation began, the military man with 27 years of experience was left without weapons. “They found military items – I said my brother gave them to me, but the enemy pointed a gun at me...” – says the colonel. Dmytro managed to hide his uniform and awards, which probably saved his life.  

Columns of russian vehicles, shelling, destroyed houses, people sleeping in cellars. Dmytro studied the routes of the occupiers’ equipment, warned his comrades, helped his neighbours, extinguished fires, and saved his family. At a critical moment, he even pretended to be a construction worker to deflect suspicion: “Back then, I was just a man who had to protect my family.”

After everything he had been through, Dmytro’s 11-year-old son said: “I want to become a military man”. His father did not encourage him – he only supported him.