On March 11, 2022, Iryna Pochankina lost two sons: the younger Volodymyr and the middle one Vitalii.
"On March 10, the assault brigades of the Wagnerites came to our village. They searched the house. They found two medals for participation in the anti-terrorist operation. They pulled my children out of the cellar. And they pulled out a ladder so that I could not get out. And they threw bread at me and told me not to get out for three days.
I saw how Vitalii was hit on a cinder block. I lost consciousness. I could not save them. I barely got out of the cellar. I rushed to the neighbours. I asked:
- Pasha, were my boys shot?
- Yes.
Volodymyr had a bullet in his forehead. Vitalii had gouged out eyes. There were medals on them. The whole face, bones and liver were mutilated. Teeth in the sand. He was hit in the ears with a rifle butt. It was not allowed to bury them. My sons were killed on March 11. I went to the house. I prepared a place to put the boys.
The assault units retreated. "DPR" entered the village. Together with my ex-husband, we approached the children. We took a wheelbarrow to transport the bodies. I began to wash and change clothes. The cemetery was mined. 8 people were digging a hole in the yard in the garden. The younger Vovchyk was the first to be put into the pit. Then the middle one, Vitalii. His head was turned to Vovchyk," said Iryna, a resident of the Ivanivka village.