The incident occurred in 2022 in Gostomel, where Yaroslav Shakhtorin took his wife. A man was guarding a home with a shotgun when he encountered a neighbor who had gone outside to smoke a cigarette.
Ukrainian actor Yaroslav Shakhtorin, known as the actor of one of the roles in the TV series “Friends”, almost unintentionally killed a civilian in Gostomel (Kiev region), whom he thought was a Russian invader in 2022. The actor talked about this in an interview with TSN that aired on Wednesday, February 21.
In the first days after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces, Shakhtorin and his wife Taisiya came to Gostomel to visit Yaroslav’s father. Shakhtorin Sr., who had permission to buy two shotguns, agreed with his son that they would take turns guarding the house with the guns.
“After four hours of sleep, I went to my first post, I was sitting, a strong wind was howling, and suddenly I heard someone walking on our porch, as if one of the Russians was climbing over the fence and walking towards the house. “I jump into the middle of the courtyard, pull the safety guard and think: that’s it, now I’m going to shoot. Because of these emotions, I almost shot at my neighbor,” the actor told reporters.
As it turned out, the “invader” was a man who went out to smoke and accidentally hit his armed neighbor.
However, Yaroslav still managed to meet with the Russian soldier. True, then Ukrainian and Russian were just glances. The actor says his morale was high in the early days. Armored vehicles “Kazakh” and “Varta” were driving along the streets where Shakhtorin’s father’s house was located. At that time, it seemed to the local population that the Ukrainian army would very quickly “clear” the region from the Russian invaders and restore order. However, the next day, the actor’s family had to hide in the basement of the house.
Shakhtorin was interested in helicopters of the Russian Armed Forces. Every morning and evening they flew around Gostomel and “walked” at a fairly low altitude. Therefore, one day, hearing the roar of military equipment above his house, the man left the shelter. Just then a Russian Ka-52 flew over him, five meters above the ground. Yaroslav for a second
In his conversation with journalists, the actor said, “I met the gaze of the helicopter pilot when they flew over the house. It was creepy.”
He saw a Russian soldier with his own eyes for the second time when he came to the Shakhtorins’ house. According to the actor’s memoirs, the invader was younger than him and looked confused. But he was also in full battle gear and slung with weapons. The Russian then stayed in the house for a few minutes and then left. Later, hearing about the terror experienced by local people in Bucha, Shakhtorin realized that he and his wife were lucky at that time.
Let us recall that the wife of Ukrainian composer Igor Poklad had just told how the invaders wanted to kill her husband. During the invasion of Vorzel, Pskov paratroopers set up headquarters in the house of Igor Poklad and his wife. Those inside smashed souvenirs, drank elite alcohol, destroyed a book about the composer himself, and finally “filled” the building with mines and grenades.
Also, Ukrainian actress Natalya Sumskaya talked about what scares her most about the current war in Ukraine. The People’s Artist is shocked by the large-scale missile attacks of the Russian Armed Forces on Ukraine, as a result of which entire cities are destroyed. At the same time, military operations are also news for the actor: He was previously involved in World War II. He had heard tragic details about the war from his mother, who survived World War II.
Source: Focus
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