Russian troops in the village forced all civilians to wear white armbands. Also, they were forced to hang those armbands on their fences. People remember how the occupiers searched for those who had been fighting in Donbas since 2014. And how they went into houses and, threatening, asked for food. Children who have been under occupation for a month are afraid of loud noises, the war, and Russian soldiers.
Read here Memories of the defender of Chernihiv about the invasion of the Russians
"Can we have some bread, because we've been starving for a few days"
A resident of Novyi Nin recalled how the occupiers asked for bread. The woman was cleaning up the yard when she was approached with machine guns.
Russian soldiers said there were many of them and they had not eaten for several days. They themselves were military personnel and came from the Altay Krai.
According to the woman, Russian soldiers persuaded that "they came to defend". However, the villagers replied that everything was good in Ukraine and that there was no need to protect anyone.
Children stayed in cellars for weeks
Ania and Sofiika, who are 7 years old, say they are afraid of the war. They even created a toy bunker to "hide because there is a basement". Their grandmother Natalia added that the children had been sitting in the cellars for weeks because they were being shelled from all sides.
“The we have lived and suffered here, Lord help us. We were fired on from all sides. We were under occupation. One of the shells fell into the garden. We thought that if the cellar was shelled, we would not get out”.
When planes flew – the son cried and fell to the floor
Mykola has two sons. The eldest is 12 years old, so he understood that the war had begun. The father said that the boy was shaking from what he felt. And when the planes flew, he screamed, cried, and immediately fell to the floor.
"I calmed him down. I said, "everything is OK, the plane has already flown away, do not be afraid." The plane flew at a height of 50 meters from a tree. Once they shelled 500 meters away from us. Then the house shook and the shell hit. I jumped into the house and immediately sat down. The whistle was incredible. I've never felt this way before".
The boy himself clings to his father and is shy to speak. However, he said that he saw equipment and Russian soldiers with machine guns, and now he is afraid of the war and sounds.
LEGO army
Mykola's youngest son did not understand anything, because he is only four years old. But he also felt something, his father said. In the room, the child created a whole army of toys so that no one would go there.
Even at night, the boy makes an army out of wooden blocks and makes LEGO tanks. According to the man, he thus "protects himself, and thinks that it will save him".