Russians execute three brothers and throw bodies in a pit. Mykola survives and digs his way to freedom | War Ukraine and Russia

A few days after the Russian invasion, armored vehicles thundered into the village of Dovzhyk. The Kulichenko brothers tried to stay out of sight of the Russians. They lived together in a house with their sister Iryna (36).

At first, the Russians left the villagers undisturbed. But that changed on March 18 when a Russian convoy was hit by shelling. Russian soldiers then went to the village of 570 inhabitants in search of possible persons involved. They went from house to house to see if anyone had served in the army.

Yevgen had plenty of reasons to hide: The 30-year-old Ukrainian had fought pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine before resigning from the military. He worked on a local farm and planned to rejoin his former unit. He had already packed a bag with things and it was found by the Russian army. The Russians found another ‘suspicious’ object: their grandfather’s military medal. They took the brothers with a bag pulled over their heads. They ended up in a cold cellar somewhere with a dozen other men.

There they were interrogated and beaten for days. Mykola heard his brothers screaming in pain. Three days later, the brothers were taken away. A little further on, Russian soldiers forced them to kneel at the edge of a newly dug pit near a wheat field in northern Ukraine. Their legs and wrists were bound and they were blindfolded.

Mykola heard the first shot being fired. He turned when he heard a second shot. The next bullet hit him and entered through his cheek and exited his body again under his right ear without hitting any vital organs. The hood of his jacket was up, which saved him because his head was less visible.

Soldiers then pushed Mykola into the grave on top of Yevgen. He felt Dymytro’s weight land on him, and then he felt even more pressure. Someone was shoveling earth over them.

In the grave, blood ran down Mykola’s neck. It became difficult to breathe. If this was the end, he thought, at least he would be with his brothers. Yevgen didn’t move and he heard Dymytro take his last breath. Then all was quiet.

“I realized I was still alive,” said 33-year-old Mykola. The bullet had passed through the inside of his cheek without causing any major damage. He gathered all his strength and dragged himself out of the tomb that was not completely covered with earth.

He managed to take off the blindfold and rope around his legs, but his wrists were tied too tightly. He kicked more dirt on the grave to cover his brothers and then walked to a road. He didn’t know where he was, but he had to find a way home without encountering Russian troops. In an abandoned house he found a knife with which he could cut the rope around his wrists.

It wasn’t until five days later that Mykola arrived back at his childhood home, gunshot wound and covered in dirt and blood, where Sister Iryna had been anxiously waiting for her brothers.

“There was Mykola. I looked into his eyes and asked where the others were? He said there are no others left,” Iryna said in tears.

Chernihiv’s attorney has now launched an investigation into these and many other war crimes committed by the Russians in the region.

The brothers were finally given a decent burial in April after the Russians withdrew – a month after their horrific execution. “I hate the Russians with all my heart. They are beasts”, concluded Mykola.

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