Two bombs have hit Mezhyhiria, where neighbouring village residents find refuge

Iryna Balachuk – Friday, 11 March 2022, 11:50

The basements of the former residence of Viktor Yanukovych, the former President who fled Ukraine in 2014, located on the outskirts of Kyiv, has become a refuge and a shelter for the residents of the nearby villages. On the first night of the war, the grounds of the residence was hit by two Russian cluster bombs.

Source: Slidstvo.Info reporters who visited the residence

According to Denys Tarakhkotelyk, groundskeeper [literally, commandant] of the Mezhyhiria residence: "There were days when 60 children would shelter here. Currently, there are several dozen people."

Details: According to Tarakhkotelyk, during the first night of the war, Mezhyhiria was bombed by a Russian aircraft. It has destroyed mobile service on the main tower; explosions shattered windows in the neighbouring houses. No-one was wounded during the air strike.

Another bomb hit the pond in the surrounding grounds, killing two swans.

Tarakhkotelyk said that currently Mezhyhiria works like clockwork: the animals are fed, all infrastructures are taken care of. On cold nights, boilers are turned on to prevent the pipes from freezing, and the grounds are regularly tidied up and carefully guarded, in order to avoid looting.

Volunteers bring food, which is distributed to the people.

Animals from the local zoo are also doing fine. According to the groundskeeper, they have enough food. During the first few days, explosions scared the animals, but now they are used to them.

On the second day of the war, a cat that had recently given birth to three kittens arrived at Yanukovych’s former residence; the kittens were given the names of Javelin, NLAW, and Bairaktar.