On June 9 at 2:00 p.m., the Museum’s Exhibition Center will host a meeting with Afanasii Dermenzhy, a witness to the tragedy that befell residents of the Kherson region in 2023: the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant by russian occupiers. This latest crime by the enemy devastated the lives of thousands of civilians who found themselves at the epicenter of the disaster.
After the dam was blown up, Afanasii Afanasiiovych and his wife, Mariia Heorhiivna, had to flee their home in Oleshky. The elderly couple, cut off from the outside world with russian forces on one side and rising water flooding homes on the other, managed to survive and evacuate.
Afanasii Dermenzhy, chief engineer of the Antonivka Bridge project and author of the book Avenue over the Dnipro, will share his personal story of 533 days of life under occupation, 45 of which he and his wife spent in the attic, sheltering from the floodwaters.
This is not only a testimony of what was endured. It is a living memory of a tragedy that changed the lives of thousands of people and became yet another proof of the crimes of russian aggression against Ukraine.
During the meeting, you will have the opportunity to hear a story of survival, ask the speaker questions, and reflect together on events that have already become part of our shared history.
We invite you to join the conversation and help preserve truth and memory.
Admission is free.
