Natalia Polyvach is the head of one of the units of the Ivankova SES. The woman spent more than a month in the occupation and broke many stereotypes among Russians.
At first, they tried to lure her to their side, offering regular salaries and food. But these suggestions only made Natalia smile.
Natalia Polyvach
They intimidated us, forced us to speak Russian to each other. They offered $ 50 (salary). Then $ 100. To which she replied that I receive a much higher salary in Ukrainian hryvnias than your $ 100. And I don’t need food. I am a man from the village. I have everything, – Natalia remembers.
During the occupation, rescuers were not allowed to put out the fires. So the local SES actually signed up as a volunteer. Water was delivered to the peasants, because due to lack of electricity the water supply system stopped working.
Natalia says that the Russians openly envied the Ukrainians. It was strange for them that the villages were paved, the streets were lit, and the houses had gas. They did not understand how to heat a house without firewood.
– They asked who was chopping firewood for me? I say: Why do I need firewood, if I have gas heating here ? They then had square eyes, they had a shock. They ask: Do you have gas in all settlements? I say: Yes, practically. He says: And the light? – Yes, and light.
Then I say: We have both washing machines and dishwashers. And electric meat grinders are also good. Then they did not understand that there are no old meat grinders – with handles. They say: Well, I have electricity! Then their soldier removed the balaclava in surprise. It was a curiosity for him, – says Natalia.
And the Russians did not understand how a woman could be in power. Natalia heads the department for organizing preventive work of the SES. Among her subordinates are mostly men. But for the Russians, it turned out to be on the verge of fiction.
– Broad … They didn’t say I was a woman. And what a woman. I am a grandmother, I have two grandchildren. But not broad! – the woman adds.
And in Ivankiv there are legends about local fishermen. Here this enterprise has long been called Fishtoad. It has been operating as a fish farm since the 1960s. Then, like everything Soviet, it fell into disrepair, and in 2005 private entrepreneurs set to work. The company was called a hamlet on the outskirts and supplied products to the largest supermarkets across the country. This was the case before the start of the large-scale offensive.
When Ivankiv was occupied by Russia, the electricity went out, and the fish in the refrigerators could go bad – but not from such owners.
Serhiy Shinkaruk is the chief fisherman of the enterprise. He says that at first they distributed all the frozen products that people cooked while they had gas. Then they began to distribute live fish. They even followed her during the curfew to take their turn. Sometimes 500-600 hungry people stood behind the fence.
Serhiy Shinkaruk
There were many soldiers in the villages, from where people were not released. Volunteers drove at their own risk. In the villages there are a lot of elderly people lying down. They could not come here for 20-30 kilometers alone.
– Of course, we have very few fish now, because more than 75 tons were distributed – this is the fish that had to be processed at our company. But we do not mind. After all, it benefited people – that is, it is not a loss, but an investment, – says Serhiy.
The fish were hauled even when Russian reconnaissance helicopters and their fighters were flying around.
Mykola Tikhonchuk and his wife Hanna still work at the volunteer center in Ivankiv. He moved from the Crimea to Kyiv region in 2015. He couldn’t get along with the Russians there. He says he is allergic to them, because this nation is completely different.
Mykola and Hanna Tikhonchuk
– It was difficult to leave Crimea. We moved here – somehow it became easier. We have always worked on trust. The man came – ordered, we did – he paid. They came. As they said: Lohiv is a field of miracles. To throw is not to throw. Ordered something – we did. They did not pay. This is another nation. Quite different and not for the better, – says the man.
Today, Mykola and his wife weave “kikimori” for the Ukrainian army, where their son-in-law serves. The funny thing is that his whole family is from the Moscow region. And he was born in Sevastopol. As soon as he moved to Ivankiv, he repainted the fence in blue and yellow. Miraculously, the Russians were not punished for this, although they stabbed people with a machine gun to intimidate them.
Mykola himself saved his fellow villagers by giving them water from his well.
– People went there to the river – took water for technical needs, and then saw my well: Give water. And so all day – in March he started digging a new well, – he adds.
Today, together with his wife, Mykola is waiting for our victory. Because he has had enough of orcs.