In front-line Sadove — a suburb of Kherson — the situation is very difficult. Despite constant shelling, lack of communications and destroyed infrastructure, 14 people continue to live in the settlement.
What keeps them going, the head (starosta) Olena Semenikhina told Suspilne.
There is a Point of Invincibility operating in the village, Olena says. Here residents of Sadove can warm up, charge their gadgets and drink hot tea. Humanitarian aid is also regularly delivered to people.
“We deliver bread, food, and, when possible – water weekly. Since November 2022 there was no electricity or water supply, then we supplied water using a powerful generator”, — the starosta says.
There is also no mobile connection in the settlement, and there is no transport link.
The roads to Sadove remain extremely dangerous, Semenikhina says. At first this was related to a large number of “petal”-type mines, now — because of the constant drone activity of the Russian army.
The Prydniprovske settlement is also part of the Sadove starosta district. Before the full-scale invasion about one and a half thousand people lived here. Now there is not a single person left in Prydniprovske, in Sadove – 14 continue to live.
“225 people as IDPs live in the territory of Kherson, and we work here and support people. The starostate was also destroyed; two KABs were dropped there. Currently we provide humanitarian assistance and other services to the population: certificates, acts, extracts, we help people with evacuation if they want to leave, and we also help with resettlement”, — the starosta said.
Olena Semenikhina herself suffered from Russian aggression — on November 13, 2024 she was blown up on a Russian mine. That day the woman was at work when utility workers called her. They said they were repairing cables and came under attack by a Russian drone. Several people were wounded and asked for help. The starosta said she took bandages with her, a guard from the Point of Invincibility and another village resident to help the victims
“One could not move on his own, another had injured legs. While we were in that house, a drone came again. An incendiary munition was dropped onto the roof of the house and it gradually caught fire. We had to get the wounded person down to a safer place so that a vehicle could drive up there and take him to the hospital. He could not jump onto a bicycle by himself, so we looked for a cart and moved him to a safer place”, — Olena recalls.
After people moved away from the house, a Russian drone again came and dropped explosives there. Everyone quickly hid under a tree and waited until the danger passed, the starosta said.
“On the neighboring street we found a cart and were already returning to that house. Two guys who came with me say: “Why are you coming with us again? Stay here, wait for us, we’ll manage without you”. I said: “Okay”. I turned around, wanted to go back, took two steps and blew up”, — the woman says.
According to Olena Semenikhina, no one saw those “petals”, and when the woman turned slightly to the side, she stepped on one. Treatment until complete healing took about seven months.
Most of the woman’s foot was amputated, only the heel remained. Currently she manages without a prosthesis because it is uncomfortable for her.
“I have somewhat learned to walk on my heel because the prosthesis is low-quality. That is, I cannot walk on it, it stands at my home, I do not use it. Now I have ordered another prosthesis; I hope it will be a little better”, — Olena says.