Tatyana Mudrenko became famous for not bowing to the invaders
Captured by Russian troops at the beginning war in ukrainea Kherson region now a place of terror. Although the withdrawal of troops from Moscow is expected, those living there do not forget what the past months have been like.
This is the case of Natalya Chernaya, who from the very beginning warned her sister about complaints and protests against the Russian presence in the region. The warnings are in vain, as Tatyana Mudrienko turned up dead in the square, all because she claimed that her hometown of Skadovsk was Ukrainian territory.
Indeed, since September 30, Russia has not recognized this scenario after the annexation of the region, as it did with Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporozhye, after referendums that were criticized by the international community.
According to several witnesses and Natalya Chernaya herself, Tatyana Mudriyenko was dragged through the streets by Moscow-appointed government officials and eventually hanged at a public execution.
“You can’t have your say in lively Skadovsk,” says Natalya Chernaya Financial Timesto whom he informed of the scenario of terror in the area for anyone who dares to challenge the authority imposed by the Kremlin.
For Tatyana Mudrenko, the end was the worst, but those who survived live under constant threat: about 15,000 residents of the coastal village are arrested or deprived of their property daily, protesting against the occupiers.
In the case of this woman, a pediatrician by profession, her death was the result of several clashes with Russian troops. Natalya Chernaya recalls how one day two people in balaclavas and Tatyana Mudrenko ran into a group of Russian soldiers.
“She looked at the orc, straight into his eyes, and asked: “Why are you here? Are you going to shoot me?” recalled the sister, who then described a more recent case, before the woman’s death. Tatyana Mudrenko scolded the Ukrainian policeman and shouted “Skadovsk is Ukraine.” Natalya Chernaya knew everything from a distance, since in April she fled to the Dnieper. And she also learned from afar about the abduction of her sister, who was captured together with her husband by the Ukrainian police, who collaborated with Russia.
For several days, no one knew about this couple, until a week later, a woman called Natalya Chernaya and said that her sister was being executed on the square.
“They put something in her mouth and then hung it in front of the courthouse,” she said, adding that her sister’s husband was released with a broken arm and other signs of abuse. After that, he was allowed to bury the woman’s body.
Wanting to know exactly what happened, Natalia Chernaya called the local morgue to ask for confirmation of her sister’s death. At first, the service refused to talk to her, but in the end they pronounced her dead, adding that the cause of death was “mechanical asphyxia”, that is, strong pressure was applied to the neck of the victim.
Natalya Chernaya was unable to confirm the veracity of the story, but the Financial Times reviewed the death certificate and text messages that confirm the version of the hanging.
Tatyana Mudrenko’s case is just one of many. It was recorded by the non-governmental organization “Media Initiative for Human Rights”, as well as information services, which on October 14 stated that they had recorded “several cases of killings and torture during the occupation” of the Kherson region.
At the same time, in recognition of the withdrawal from areas on the western bank of the Dnieper, Russian soldiers are occupying the homes of those who fled to territory controlled by Kyiv or those who were deported to Crimea. Skadovsk, in an area with a strong Russian presence, is less than 100 kilometers from a peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014. Even if Kherson is liberated, the village will remain in the hands of the Russians for a long time, as it is far from the front line. battle line.
And if it is difficult to get there, it will be even more difficult in the future. Skadovsk will become a new zone for the establishment of the Russian administration in the Kherson region in connection with the imminent withdrawal of Moscow’s troops from the main city of this zone, which bears the same name.