Only six weeks later, Andrey’s family discovers his horrific fate

Relatives wandered into the village to search. It wasn’t without danger, mines were everywhere. “But we went anyway,” Anastasia says. People said there were bodies in the cellars. But we didn’t see anyone there. A few days later, the first bodies were found, killed, and abandoned by the Russians. “We looked at four deaths, but fortunately our father wasn’t one of them.”

Andrey remained without a trace. They hoped that he would be taken to Belarus as a prisoner of the Russians.

He was killed in the back of the head

But on April 11, that hope ended. “Then Ehor came to me,” Anastasia says. He said: They found my father. They asked my mother to come and get to know him. Andrey’s body was discovered by the mayor of the village. He took a picture and showed it to Oksana. I recognized him immediately. He was wearing his favorite clothes. “Thank God I didn’t see his body,” Anastasia says. “Mama said his face was unrecognizable. His hands were tied behind his back with wires. He was shot in the back of his head.”

They still cannot believe that their father will not return. Anastasia tells about her father. “He was very smart. He could do it so well, he could make everything with his own hands. He knew the answer to everything I asked.” Ehor tells how safe he felt with his father. “He always supported me. He taught me everything. We made this stove together. He showed me how to make bricks the right size.”

Then mother Oksana still wanted to say something, no matter how difficult it was for her. “Because as many people as possible need to know that ordinary families, who a month and a half ago were still living a normal life and were full of future plans, this can happen. My husband was brutally murdered. I want the world to know how terrible the Russians are. They are not Soldiers, they are barbarians. No sane person would do such a thing.”