The village of Korobochkine wasn't occupied by the Russians, but it nevertheless found itself right on the front line for half a year. The village suffered 6 months of artillery duels, and Russian army positions were just 4 kilometers from the village.
Out of 3,000 pre-war residents, only about 300 have remained. They are mostly elderly people or those unable to move. One such resident is Nina Kharina. The villagers call her Baba Nina, or Granny Nina. She is 82 years old, and her house is burned down to only its walls.
She is quite an old lady who struggles to walk straight, and she moves with the help of a big stick. When the shell hit her house, the fire it started was so powerful that Baba Nina's neighbors thought the worst, until they saw her walking away from her house.
The shell caused the ceiling to immediately begin collapsing, and the doors in the house were blocked. As the house started to burn, Baba Nina tried to get out through the window. But it was too high for her, so she pulled the pieces of the clay ceiling away from the door with all her strength and managed to escape.
Of course, Nina could not take anything with her as she barely escaped with her life. Her wallet with money and her phone were left burning in the house. Nina's neighbors called firefighters to put out the flames, but no one could come. So her house burned to the ground.
All that Baba Nina had left were the clothes she was wearing as she escaped. Later, volunteers brought her new clothes.
Now, Nina Kharina is living in the summer kitchen near her destroyed house. It is totally unfit for living in the winter. The roof there is also damaged, but the volunteers helped Nina and put up new plastic windows. The building is heated with firewood.
Nina has a daughter who lives in Kharkiv. However, she absolutely refuses to move in with her daughter, because here, in the village, she looks after 4 dogs, cats, and even a goat. Her neighbors gave her their goat, so that she would always have milk.
"I'm unable to leave them here because I'm sure they will die out of hunger during the winter. So I'm staying here for these living creatures. I'll try to survive this winter with them," Nina said.
Nina is convinced that God took away her home to let her leave behind her old life. That's why she doesn't regret losing her home and believes in the best.
This material was prepared with financial support from the International Renaissance Foundation.
