A repurposed rocket: Ukrainian man's story of resilience amidst war
A 63-year-old Ukrainian man found a practical use for a rocket that fell in his neighbourhood. It won't help him eliminate the enemy, but it will help him perform... household chores. "I painted it a bit because it started to rust," said Mykola Krawczenko in an interview with PAP. Now, he hangs laundry on lines attached to the unexploded missile.
The 63-year-old Mykola Krawczenko lives in the village of Majdanivka, 50 kilometers from the capital - Kyiv. Recently, four Russian missiles fell in his area. The rocket's body turned out to be perfect for... a post to hang the laundry line.
I took the best one because I thought, why let it just lie there. And you can hang laundry, and metal is expensive, high quality. I painted it a bit because it started to rust," he said in an interview with PAP.
After a while, the man added: "Let Putin see what we're doing with his weapons: we're hanging rags on them. Let Putin know that no one here is afraid of him," Mykola Krawczenko remarked.
Russians raped women and occupied towns
Majdanivka had been at the center of heavy fighting since March 2022. In an interview with the agency, the 63-year-old revealed that 700 people inhabited the village before the critical date, and about 30 remain.
"I live with my mother, who can't walk after a stroke. She's 84 years old. I couldn't leave her behind," he said. Further in the interview, he reveals that when the fighting ceased, it was time to return to normal life. He has about 460 Canadian dollars to live on.
His village wasn't occupied, but residents of nearby towns - Borodianka and Makariv weren't so lucky. "I saw Russian planes. It seemed the sky was on fire on the horizon. In Makariv, where I have an apartment, they killed my neighbor. Terrible things happened there. They raped women, and human bodies lay on the roads," he revealed.
He found the mentioned rocket while working in the field. Sappers wanted to take it, but it wasn't armed with a warhead. He didn't believe Russia could attack his country. In an interview with PAP, he revealed that his wife came from Russia, and he himself served in the army in the Rostov region. He doesn't understand why Russians don't rebel against the war.
Why do their people agree to go to their deaths so easily? Our people are defending their land, their country, but what are they dying for? I can't explain it. God willing, this war will end soon. Nothing lasts forever," he said at the end of the conversation.
