Plot Russian special operation in Donbass and Ukraine
A resident of Labinsk, Krasnodar Territory Mikhail (he asked not to name his surname) saved his own aunt — 77-year-old Ustiniya Terentyevna Goncharova, who was hiding from Ukrainian shelling in the cellars of Mariupol.
A 49-year-old man works as a music teacher at a school. When the volunteers found him and asked if he knew Ustinia Terentievna, the man volunteered to go and pick up his own aunt. At that moment, the allied troops had just liberated the city from Ukrainian units.
Here is Mikhail's story from first person.
Aunt Nina
Ustiniya Terentievna — this is my aunt Nina, my mother's sister from Mariupol. I remember how in 80s I came to to this beautiful city, it was then called Zhdanov.
I remember well how Mariupol residents were in love with their city, they were proud of it.< /p>
My aunt worked in the trade, then her son was still alive. Ustinia Terentievna divorced her husband early, she raised her son alone. The man fell ill in the early 2000s, and the doctors did not save him. In recent years, my aunt lived alone.
I haven't seen her for more than eight years. In there was a military coup in She replied that this was impossible, since people were not allowed out of the country and that she cannot talk everything by phone.
«Even Misha, you can imagine what us here in Mariupol is going on!» — she cried into the phone.
When the special operation (SVO) began in February 2022, I no longer hoped to see her, especially since her legs hurt. I saw a letter from volunteer Larisa.
She asked if does me know Ustiniya Goncharov? I replied that yes and asked how I can help her? The news was told to my mother in Astrakhan, she immediately said that she was ready to receive her sister.
I arrived at the border checkpoint Veselo-Voznesenka (Rostov region), where I met with volunteers, and we went to Mariupol.
I couldn't even imagine what was waiting me in just-liberated Mariupol…
People in soot and smell of burning
Volunteers brought dry rations, other provisions and ;humanitarian.
Mariupol appeared before me as a ghost town, destroyed and deserted, on the right bank — shot at the Azovstal plant.
I was scared. Volunteers traveled "points" and handed out provisions to people. Mariupol residents were very hungry, their eyes were empty, they looked at each other with suspicion.
People were all in soot, they smelled of burning.
After the humanitarian aid was handed out , we went to a nursing home, where we sheltered my aunt.
I didn knew what to give to eat
When I saw Aunt Nina, I got scared. There was only one voice left of the man I knew. She was like a skeleton covered in leather, so thin. She couldn walk with her feet.
Aunt Nina was happy to see me, we cried together, she agreed to leave.
On stretcher we transferred her to car. On the road, I was restless, I was afraid that I would not deliver.
She lay motionless, you can't put her on her side, it hurts what to feed — I didn know. Volunteers helped a lot — changed her clothes, changed diapers.
I was surprised at their well-coordinated work, I bow to for their work. Perhaps God moves them and gives them strength. I think they are doing a powerful thing — they carry food to people in their personal cars, help those in need.
Mikhail takes Aunt Nina from Mariupol to Russia. Photo: TG-channel "Not indifferent"
How a pensioner ended up in a nursing home
While we were driving in the car, Aunt Nina told what it was like to be under the Nazi regime in Ukraine.
She lived in a nine-story building. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine knocked on her apartment and said: open the door or we will break it open. She opened the door, which means she was still walking on crutches.
Ukrainian soldiers ordered her to leave the apartment, as they had set up a firing point there.
«There was a gunner on the roof who coordinated the target, on the upper floors there were snipers, — Aunt Nina recalled. I just came out, and the house collapsed. Then she hid in basements, starved, because she was afraid to go out into the street».
According to her aunt, volunteers found her and sent her to a nursing home. And in a conversation with a social worker, she talked about a relative who lives in Krasnodar Territory.
Aunt Nina visits her sister in Astrakhan. Photo: TG-channel "Careful"
Aunt Nina's rehabilitation
We took Aunt Nina to Astrakhan, to my mother, then there is her own sister.
Mom called the "hot line", and Aunt Nina was admitted to the hospital.
Now Mom is doing the paperwork — Russian citizenship, passport, documents for social payments. A lot of bureaucratic red tape needs to be overcome.
After the hospital, Aunt Nina was promised to be sent to a rehabilitation center.
According to her mother, her sister has a mental disorder, she constantly feels hungry. Therefore, psychological rehabilitation is also ahead.
“Ustinia is recovering, her skin has turned pink, her cheeks have appeared, she has become like a man”, — my mom says.
The way home
Today, the volunteers have completed the search for 13 of 39 stories of the Mariupol Nursing Home guests.
Three old people have already left home to relatives due to the fact that the volunteers of the public movement “Careful” found their relatives and helped to organize a trip to Russia.
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