In the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022 - three years ago - Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s largest cities while Russian tanks smashed through checkpoints on the borders with Russia and Belarus.
Images of Russian tanks were captured by a camera at the Chernihiv region’s border post on what was to become one of Moscow’s main axis for its march on Kyiv. The Kremlin plan called for the Ukrainian capital in three days but first the 300,000-strong historical city of Chernihiv, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border was expected to fall within a day.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
But that did not happen. Ukraine’s First Tank Brigade along with members of the local militia -the territorial defense force bolstered by the city’s residents who were actively enlisting - stood in the way.
Three of Chernihiv’s residents told Kyiv Post of the difficult choices they had to make on that February morning as Russian tanks already approached their city.
Story of Oleksandr Kravchenko
Oleksandr Kravchenko is an injured, former soldier who joined the Territorial Defense as a sergeant instructor just a month before the full-scale invasion.
VIPs Trapped in Propaganda Bubbles are a Global Threat
“I became an instructor in the Territorial Defense company, and on the morning of the 24th, I was supposed to go to work after my vacation… Around 5:30 a.m., or before six, I had to urgently report to work at the military registration and enlistment office. There were a lot of people on the road; they were standing in stores, at military registration and enlistment offices…” Kravchenko says.
He recalls that while women and children were leaving the city, thousands of men, as throughout the country, showed up at city authorities or local mobilization stations.
“I arrived, and there the battalion commander announced that the war had begun. And immediately, we were met with the first shots fired on Chernihiv. No one knew how it would unfold; our battalion commander didn’t know what to do - he was shaking so much that he couldn’t light his cigarette”
“There were so many people that there weren’t enough weapons. After the military commissariat, we stayed there for about an hour, burned documents, saved what we could, then went to the warehouses to load ammunition. We loaded them directly into garbage trucks. We received machine gun ammunition, and all the bullets were tracers - 120 rounds each. About half an hour later, they lined us up, loaded 50 people into the truck bed, and sent us to the village of Tovstolis to repel the attack. On the way, people saw us off, crossed themselves, and some filmed us on video. Almost all of us were in civilian clothes; only two of us were in uniform - those who already had a contract with the army,” Kravchenko says.
This is the place of his first battle, to a village on the outskirts of Chernihiv. This place is memorable for him - this is how it looked then, on Feb.y 24, 2022. To this day, he can recall every meter of land - who was where and what they were doing.
“We were dropped off here. They gave us two boxes of ammunition for machine guns. Five or six guys were sent into this forest to establish a concealed position; they had Mukhs [grenade launchers].” Kravchenko indicates the position.
“They set up their position here, there were five or six of them with a couple of machine guns, and everyone else was placed five to six meters apart along the road… Then there was no snow, just slush… and then the Russian ambush started with vehicles! First, they fired at the forest belt, and then at us, right above our heads. The tracers were flying over our heads, and we were sitting across the road from them,” he says.
Paradoxically, they repelled the first Russian attack on the city on the very first day of the great war – even taking a Russian truck as trophy.
“As a result of the battle, they [the Russians] retreated because they were conscripts. They saw gunfire coming from everywhere; they didn’t expect it… We were left with one of their vehicles containing documents, including unit compositions and call signs. They tried to retreat in it, but their axle broke,” Kravchenko says.
Story of Serhii Lyubenko
Serhii Lyubenko was also in that alongside Kravchenko. He had every opportunity not to go to war - he was disabled having been wounded in the fighting in Donbas back in 2014. But on Feb. 24, he went to fight without hesitation.
We are standing with him in a pine grove on the outskirts of the city. He says this is where his military life during the last three years began.
“There was a center nearby, the Territorial Defense headquarters, where people were recruited into the ranks. I went in practically the same clothes, except for my pants… And the jacket was the same. That is, I was in civilian clothes, and for the first five days, I did not change, staying at my position. Everyone was waiting for an assault…”
“I personally did not expect the war to start on Feb 24. To be honest, I didn’t. Although there was news that they had 196 battalion-tactical groups near the borders, and even though I had gone through three years of war in Donbas, I never thought they would enter the Chernihiv region,” Lyubenko says.
He recalls how the city quickly divided into the military, who repelled attacks at the outskirts, and civilians, who either fled or stayed at home. The city - the soldier jokes - felt deserted.
“Empty Chernihiv, guys standing at makeshift checkpoints - Chernihiv was totally empty. Even if you ran naked, no one would see you!” he says.
Story of Vladyslav Savenok
Vladyslav Savenok - a Chernihiv photographer who has documented life in the city for decades.
“The day of Feb.24 started very early! My wife woke me up, crying: ‘Vladik, the war has started.’ She was hysterical. I tried to calm her down, saying we were prepared. That first day, we taped up the windows so they wouldn’t shatter. My wife and I set up the basement where we would later hide as a family. I charged the phones and prepared to document everything as a journalist. Wherever I could reach by bike, I went and filmed. A person can survive anything if they have a goal - that’s the most important thing” Savenok says.
He saw his goal as recording the horrors of war, Russian war crimes, and the consequences of shelling.
“During the 37–38-day siege of the city, I took more than 1,000 photos. By Feb. 26, I was already walking around an empty city. The city was completely deserted. The guys were handing out ammunition, checkpoints were in place. I saw things I had never seen before - massive craters, airstrikes, planes dropping bombs on the city that I had lived in since childhood. It was terrifying!” he says.
After the siege of Chernihiv was lifted his photographs, which show the world the reality of war, were exhibited at numerous exhibitions. However, he witnessed not only horror but also kindness.
It was practically impossible to escape Chernihiv at that time - the city was surrounded, and the bridges connecting it to Ukrainian-controlled territory were destroyed. There was no electricity because the Russians bombed the thermal power plant, no heating, no water, and even basic supplies were scarce.
“When my family ran out of bread, there were no deliveries - all the bridges had been blown. A friend from the Territorial Defense gave me a loaf of bread and said, ‘Take it, you have a family - you never know when there will be bread in the city again.’ It brought tears to my eyes,” Savenok recalls.
After all
Three years later, Chernihiv has almost fully recovered from the ravages of that time. The Russian troops near the city were defeated and forced to retreat. It remains a Ukrainian stronghold in the north of the country. And Oleksandr, Serhii, and Vladyslav do not regret the decisions they made exactly three years ago.
“No, I never regretted it. This is my hometown. Someone had to defend it. If not us, then who?” Kravchenko says.
“I was not going to leave—I was on my native land. But if they had come here, I think my life would have been over. And it was not just about defending myself, but also my hometown—it was my duty. The meaning of life… I had never been captured in Donbas before. I always carried two grenades with me, just in case.” Lyubenko adds.
“When my wife, daughter, and grandson said, ‘Let’s go,’ everyone was losing their nerve. So I said, ‘Let’s send my daughter and grandson, but I’ll stay.’ I felt uneasy, as if leaving would mean betraying my city. Now, this might sound like a little bit rhetoric, but then, that’s truly how it felt. I had to go through everything my city went through.” Savenok maintains.
You can find a recap of this story here.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
