"His mother's screams could be heard half a mile away." Stories of people executed by Russian soldiers in Chernihiv Oblast

The village of Levkovychi is 20 km away from Chernihiv, a city in the north of Ukraine. Two memorials stand in the centre of the village. One is to the fallen defenders of the Second World War. The other memorial is to four of the village’s residents who were killed during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. It was put up at the site of their murder. Four civilians were gunned down by Russian soldiers who entered the village on the last day of the winter of 2022. On the morning of 1 March, the parents of one of the victims found the body of their son and three of their neighbours.

This article was prepared by the Memorial memory platform, which tells the stories of Ukrainian servicemen and civilians killed by Russia, exclusively for Ukrainska Pravda. To report information about Ukrainian losses, fill out the forms: for civilian victims and military victims. 

What happened in Levkovychi on 28 February 2022?

Russian troops advanced through Chernihiv Oblast in the early days of the full-scale invasion. The villagers in Levkovychi, near Chernihiv, self-organised to resist the enemy. They helped the Ukrainian troops stationed in the forest nearby, bringing them food and anything else they needed. They also made Molotov cocktails so that they could help the defenders in the event of a battle for the village.

Convoys of Russian occupiers entered Levkovychi on the evening of 28 February 2022. At the same time, around 18:00, the locals heard gunshots. They believe that was the moment when Russian soldiers killed four of their neighbours. None of the locals witnessed the shooting, so it is still unclear why the enemy took the lives of these men and how the four of them had ended up there in the first place.

Because of the lack of information, different versions of what might have happened have emerged. One theory is that the occupiers found Molotov cocktails in an old building, and these men just happened to be nearby. Some of the victims’ relatives believe that they heard the rumble of enemy vehicles and went outside to check what was going on.

Whatever happened, the locals consider the four murdered men to be local heroes.

Who were the four men killed in the centre of Levkovychi? Here are their stories.

Serhii Nemchenko, 33

Serhii's parents were the first to learn about the tragedy. Locals say that on 1 March 2022, his mother's screams could be heard a kilometre away. That morning, she and her husband Yurii found their son’s body in the centre of the village.

"It’s very hard for me to remember and relive all of it," Yurii says. "Serhii came home from Chernihiv on 27 February. And the next day they killed him. I found my son and buried him in the garden. After Chernihiv Oblast was liberated [in early April 2022 — author], the bodies were exhumed, and on 16 April they were reburied in the cemetery."

Serhii was born in Levkovychi. After leaving school, he trained in Chernihiv to become a qualified welder, then worked at a housing maintenance office. He used to visit his parents whenever he had any spare time. He and his father liked to go fishing together. Serhii had been planning to build a gazebo in his parents' yard: he had already brought building materials over and designed it. But he never got the chance to make his idea a reality.

"My son was a good man, a hard-working guy, and he didn't have enough time to live," Serhii’s father says.

Oleksandr Derkach, 51

On 1 March, Oleksandr Derkach’s daughter Tetiana went to collect his body. She took a farm sled, as it had snowed a little the day before, and headed across the village to the place of execution.

"My parents divorced a long time ago. When the full-scale war began, I was with my family at my mum's house, a kilometre away from the site of the shooting. On the morning of 1 March, I heard someone screaming: "My son!" It was Serhii Nemchenko's mother... And then they called us and told us my father was dead," Tetiana recalls.

On the way to the site of the murder, she met a friend who helped her put Oleksandr's body on the sled. Joined by other villagers, they took him to the cemetery where they quickly buried him.

Tetiana says that Oleksandr had leg wounds, there were traces of blood on the limbs, and the skin on his head was darkened, like a bruise. She assumes that her father was beaten up and then shot dead. 

Tetiana believes that he and the other three men who were killed by the occupiers heard the rumble of military vehicles and went out to check what was happening. She does not understand why the four of them were in the same place.

Oleksandr Derkach was born in Levkovychi and spent most of his life there. He was drafted into compulsory military service, then returned home and began working on a farm. Oleksandr loved horses. He kept three at home: one of his own and two that belonged to the farmer.

"The accordion and horses were my father's great loves. Recently, he had been living with his mother, keeping a vegetable garden and working. My grandma didn’t live to see this war: she died on 14 February, and he died two weeks after her," says Tetiana.

Yaroslav Varava, 34

On 1 March 2022, Anna Varava received a call from her mother-in-law, who told her that her husband Yaroslav was dead.

"We brought him home. I dug a grave in the garden myself. We washed him and changed his clothes, and his friends helped us to bury him," she recalls.

Anna said Yaroslav had been shot in the legs and genitals. There were gunshot wounds on his back.

"I was in a state of shock. Just before that, I had lost my daughter in the seventh month of pregnancy. And then my husband... It's all very hard to bear," Anna says.

Yaroslav Varava was born in Levkovychi and lived there his whole life. He got married, and he and his wife had a son. Yaroslav worked as a tractor driver for a local business. Later he purchased his own tractor. He bought a house which he renovated himself. Yaroslav was friendly and outgoing. He had a good singing voice and played the guitar. His guitar was stolen by the occupiers: they broke into the family’s house while Anna was at her mother-in-law's.

Anna recalls that Yaroslav could fix anything: from electrics to appliances and furniture. He was purposeful and achieved most of what he set his mind to. The only thing he still dreamed of was a daughter.

Yaroslav had a keen sense of justice, Anna notes. When the full-scale war began, he, together with other local residents, collected supplies and delivered them to the Ukrainian troops. After that, he and his friends made Molotov cocktails to "greet" the enemy with. But they never got to use them.

"Since the beginning of the invasion, Yaroslav was hardly ever at home. I used to get angry with him because he’d leave me and our child alone with the enemy approaching. But what could you do? That day, he called me at half past five. He told us to hide because the occupiers had arrived and were driving past the houses. I asked him to come home, but he refused. I called again later, but there was no answer. People said they heard gunshots around 6 pm. That’s probably when they were all killed," Anna says.

Oleksandr Orishko, 46

Oleksandr was also from Levkovychi. He worked as a security guard in Chernihiv. Just before he was killed, he had become a grandfather; he never got to spend time with his granddaughter.

Oleksandr’s daughter-in-law Anna says he could turn his hand to anything, and he never said no to anyone — he’d take on anything his neighbours asked him to fix.

"He was so loved and appreciated in the village," says Anna. "He never quarrelled with anyone his whole life, and he was the life and soul of the party. We spent so little time together. We were always too busy: first the pregnancy, then the birth of our daughter. Her grandpa only saw his granddaughter once — when she was six weeks old. We miss you. We’re so sorry that we didn’t make time for you..."

The case may never reach court

The criminal investigation into the killing in Levkovychi continues under Article 438.2 [of Ukraine’s Criminal Code] "Violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder". The Chernihiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office has ordered the police to conduct the investigation. The perpetrators face 10 to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment, but they may never be found.

"We have information about which units were stationed in this village. Work continues to identify the specific military personnel who killed these civilians. But we have no suspects yet. After all, there were no direct witnesses to this incident," says Kyrylo Puhachev of the Chernihiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office, where he heads the Department of Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict.

The law enforcement officer explains that in Ukraine, charges can only be brought against a specific individual, and not, for example, the commander of a unit whose soldiers have committed war crimes. Therefore, it is not yet clear when the case will be referred to court, or even whether it will be at all.

Edited by Teresa Pearce