For approximately seven months, the village of Chystovodivka in Kharkiv Oblast's Izyum district was under occupation. Before the full-scale invasion, there were around 450 people here; now, there remains just 370.
UkraineWorld gathered testimonies from two residents of Chystovodivka in Kharkiv. Their names were changed at their request to ensure their continued safety. During the occupation in 2022, Russian troops were stationed in the village school, which was completely destroyed as a result of combat.
According to Viktoriia, there is no current ability to rebuild the educational institution, and the need is small, as the village now has only about 50 school-aged children. Education is currently provided via distance learning.
During the occupation, there was almost no food left in the village and so the locals made do with trifles.
"Russian troops took the people's phones, not that it changed the situation much; the whole city was without mobile connection. There were some of us from the village who, one way or another, managed to hide their means of communication and would sneak up to the hill to briefly phone their loved ones located in other parts of Ukraine," Viktoriia recollects.
There were continuous interrogations in the village. Viktoriia does not remember the faces of the military personnel who interrogated her because her eyes were covered at the time.
Yurii, another local resident, was also interrogated. He recalls how the Russian military used physical violence to obtain the information they needed. "I remember being hit on the head with a machine gun," Yurii told us.
Unlike the tragic history of nearby Izyum, no civilians were killed by the Russians in Chystovodivka. Torture, however, was rampant. The locals did not go into detail about their painful experience. The occupation troops paid particular interest in former ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation) participants, i.e., the former Ukrainian military.
The Russian military didn't always require a pretext. "Whatever came into their heads is where they 'went to work.'"
Yurii recalls hearing a story from a fellow villager about being taken to a torture chamber because of his tattoo. The Russian troops saw it as suspicious. The man was saved because one of the Russians shared the same tattoo.
"Sometimes they would meet you on the street and make jokes like 'It's a pity I didn't bring my knife today to kill you'."
According to locals, the occupation forces caused havoc on everything they touched. The village council building was in terrible disarray, with locks ripped from doors, documents scattered, and safes broken into. "The Russians even went so far as to defecate in almost every office of the school where they were based." There are numerous disgusting post-occupation eyewitness accounts that highlight the "savagery" of Russian troops in Ukraine.
Amidst all the horrors, people find humour. Yurii gestures to a wall where a meter hangs. "Did you notice the colourful thing on the meter?" What do you suppose it is? (He is referring to the seal). "The Russians thought it was a surveillance camera," Yurii says, with a slightly ironic smile.
"They (the Russians) were even surprised to see that the village's road was paved. They initially mistook it for a city."
Throughout the occupation, the residents of Chystovodivka did not give up their attempts to escape. Some had to flee through Russia to Europe, while others were fortunate enough to drive to another region of Ukraine. Yurii, concerned for the safety of his wife and child, took a risky and somewhat desperate step. He managed to escape the village in broad daylight, later going on to stay with his family in western Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Viktoriia secretly relocated to Kupiansk. After seeing Ukrainian troops enter the city, the woman decided to return to her hometown to assist in its restoration. Within 4-5 months of liberation, all basic communications resumed in Chystovodivka. The village gradually began to come back to life.
Aside from the shelling and traces of destruction, the village seems picturesque and serene. Events for children are held at the local library. People go about their daily lives, caring for one another and their homes. However, nothing disappears without a trace. The horrors of occupation smoulder in the locals' eyes, and their voices and facial expressions reflect it. And so, this story should serve as a reminder, to preserve memory as a symbol of not returning to the terrible past and wishing for a peaceful future.
