Yahidne: Forced to Hide

April 2022

Yahidne, a village on the outskirts of Kyiv and part of Chernihiv, was occupied for forty days by Russian troops, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

The small village of Yahidne with only several hundred residents was occupied during the Russian invasion and Kyiv Offensive. At the beginning of April, Russian forces withdrew from the village as part of the regional withdrawal from Northern Ukraine, leaving behind a devastated community.

Portrait of a young woman in front of the entrance of a basement she was forced to live in during Russian occupation of her village. — Ania (26) at the entrance of the basement where she was forced to live while the village was occupied, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022 .

Yulia (12) wrote the national anthem on the wall of the basement where she was forced to live, other children made drawings, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

Inhabitants reported how during the Russian occupation of the village, soldiers forced more than 300 residents, of whom approximately sixty were children, into the basement of a school at gunpoint, where they were held against their will from 5 March to 1 April.

The people of Yahidne slowly regain a little confidence after being liberated by Ukraine's army following the occupation, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022

Nina (68) tells the story of how the village community was forced to live in a basement for over 40 days, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

woman standing in a class room looking around. A classroom in a children's school, the Russian army used it as their operations base and as a human shield from Ukrainian defence forces. — A classroom in a children's school, the Russian army used it as their operational base and human shield from Ukrainian defence forces, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

Reuters and Al Jazeera have stated that, in total, at least twenty people have been killed, executed or died as a consequence of the occupation; however, no official death toll has been published. The journalist Roman Nezhyborets was among those who were executed by Russian soldiers.

Russian trenches outside a school, Yahidne, Ukraine - 09/04/2022

A group of women standing and sitting, waiting gathering and talking about their experiences after 40 days of Russian occupation, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022. — Women gathering and talking about their experiences after 40 days of Russian occupation, Yahidne, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

Source: Wikipedia