On June 9 at 14:00 at the Exhibition Center of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War (Kyiv, Lavrska St., 27) there will be a meeting with the chief project engineer of the Antonivskyi Bridge and the author of the book «Prospect over the Dnipro» Afanasy Dermenzhi.
This was reported on the Center’s page.
The speaker will share memories of 533 days spent under Russian occupation in Oleshky, in particular about the 45 days he and his wife spent in the attic of their own house, sheltering from flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam in 2023.
Event attendees will be able to hear an eyewitness account and ask him questions.
Admission is free.
Afanasy Dermenzhi was born in the Odesa region. As the former chief engineer of Road Construction Department No. 59, he directly oversaw the construction of the approaches to the bridges over the Dnipro near Kherson and over the Konka River near Oleshky, effectively building the Antonivskyi Bridge. The engineer set out his memories of that process and of his colleagues in the book «Prospect over the Dnipro», published in 2018. Almost the entire print run of the publication remained in the occupation, and the author managed to take only three copies out of Oleshky.
During the full-scale invasion, Afanasy Dermenzhi spent 533 days in occupation. After Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam in 2023, his house in Oleshky was flooded, forcing him, together with his wife Maria and their dog, to live for 45 days in the attic, severely rationing food. In August 2023 the couple managed to leave.
At present the engineer has lost all his property, because, in addition to the flooded house in Oleshky, his Kherson apartment on the fifth floor was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone after Russian troops set up their UAV launch point in it.
You can read our material about Afanasy Dermenzhi here.