08-04-2022, 09:20 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61030090
Yahidne, 140km (80 miles) north-west of Kyiv and just outside the city of Chernihiv which is close to the borders with Belarus and Russia, was occupied by Russian soldiers for nearly a month.
When they entered, they took men, women and children from their homes at gunpoint and held them in the basement of the local school for four weeks - around 130 people cramped into a room roughly 65 sq m (700 sq ft) in size.
Sixty-year-old Mykola Klymchuk was one of them. He offered to show us the basement.
As we climbed down a short flight of stairs, we began to smell the stench of disease and decay. The room was dirty - some mattresses, clothes, shoes and books were strewn on the floor, there were four small cots in the centre and a stash of utensils in one corner.
Mykola took us straight to the far end of the room.
"This was my half a metre of space. I was sleeping standing up," he said. His voice choked up and he started crying. "I tied myself to the railing here with my scarf so I wouldn't fall over. I spent 25 nights like this."
![[Image: _124084000_mediaitem124083999.jpg]](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/0030/production/_124084000_mediaitem124083999.jpg)
About 130 people spent four weeks here
Mykola said you couldn't move at all for fear of stepping on people. About 40 or 50 children were among those held captive, including babies. The youngest was just two months old.
Fifteen-year-old Anastasiia was in the Yahidne basement along with her father and grandmother.
![[Image: _124084066_mediaitem124084005.jpg]](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/10200/production/_124084066_mediaitem124084005.jpg)
Anastasiia is scared and clearly suffering from the stress of weeks under siege
"There was barely any room. We were living sitting up. We were sleeping sitting up. Not that we slept at all. It was impossible. So many shells were landing around here. It was unbearable," she said.
The room had no ventilation. Its two windows were boarded up.
"During my time here, 12 people died," Mykola said.
Yahidne, 140km (80 miles) north-west of Kyiv and just outside the city of Chernihiv which is close to the borders with Belarus and Russia, was occupied by Russian soldiers for nearly a month.
When they entered, they took men, women and children from their homes at gunpoint and held them in the basement of the local school for four weeks - around 130 people cramped into a room roughly 65 sq m (700 sq ft) in size.
Sixty-year-old Mykola Klymchuk was one of them. He offered to show us the basement.
As we climbed down a short flight of stairs, we began to smell the stench of disease and decay. The room was dirty - some mattresses, clothes, shoes and books were strewn on the floor, there were four small cots in the centre and a stash of utensils in one corner.
Mykola took us straight to the far end of the room.
"This was my half a metre of space. I was sleeping standing up," he said. His voice choked up and he started crying. "I tied myself to the railing here with my scarf so I wouldn't fall over. I spent 25 nights like this."
About 130 people spent four weeks hereMykola said you couldn't move at all for fear of stepping on people. About 40 or 50 children were among those held captive, including babies. The youngest was just two months old.
Fifteen-year-old Anastasiia was in the Yahidne basement along with her father and grandmother.
Anastasiia is scared and clearly suffering from the stress of weeks under siege"There was barely any room. We were living sitting up. We were sleeping sitting up. Not that we slept at all. It was impossible. So many shells were landing around here. It was unbearable," she said.
The room had no ventilation. Its two windows were boarded up.
"During my time here, 12 people died," Mykola said.
![[Image: IMG-20220407-194004-307.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/Tm7Ygxc/IMG-20220407-194004-307.jpg)