Chernihiv - hero city

25.4

The train departed Lviv punctually at 23:18. By then, I had already made my upper berth. Making the bed is a bit problematic when four people are supposed to make it. The carriage swayed a little at the beginning, then I don't remember anything until just before we punctually arrived in Chernihiv around 10 am. Checked in at Hotel Prydesnyansky.

We were welcomed by Stanislav, who participated in the defense of Chernihiv when the Russians attacked in February 2022. Here he lost his brother.

Stanislav told us about the battle of Chernihiv and took us around to places where fights had taken place and places of destruction from Russian bombardment.

For the defense of the city, there was a tank company and an infantry company. In addition, they had territorial defense. Opposing them was a 60 km long Russian armored column moving towards Kyiv. But the Ukrainian defenders quickly received reinforcements. During the first week, 5,000 people signed up, were given a gun in hand, a brief introduction, and began practical exercises the next morning. Still, the Russians failed to enter the city. Large parts of the surrounding countryside were ocupied, but the city held out. For that reason, Chernihiv was designated the title Hero City.

Last October I met Stanislav.

The surplus from the tours is given as donations to the organizations we meet. In October, we had a record high surplus and I had a good amount of money left over. After returning home, I received a request from Stanislav asking if we could contribute some money for the purchase of a minibus for the Territorial Defence. For me, I was happy to respond to him that we could give the entire amount of $6,000.

No wonder I was honored with a fancy diploma on a wooden plaque. In the photo, I don't look very happy, which is completely wrong - I was really happy! But his handshake was extremely tough.