"I was starving and going crazy for a week in the basement" - a teacher from Kherson about her captivity during the occupation
Source: Radio Free Europe
Olena Naumova is a teacher at Kindergarten No. 41 in Kherson. During the Russian occupation, she shared stories about life in the city on TikTok, where she is known as vyhovatel_iz_humorom (“Teacher with a Sense of Humor”). The teacher did not hide her pro-Ukrainian stance, and six months after the start of the Russian occupation, she was abducted. The occupiers later released her, and a video appeared online showing her apologizing to the Russian military. After that, Olena disappeared again, and nothing was known about her fate until the city was liberated. In an interview with Radio Free Europe’s “News of the Azov Region” project, she explained where the “Teacher with a Sense of Humor” had been and what had actually happened to her.
We asked Olena why she decided to make videos for TikTok during the occupation of Kherson?
– It wasn’t just me; a lot of people were doing it, but smart people didn’t show themselves. But it just so happened that… What happened, happened.
According to the woman, she and like-minded people filmed patriotic videos every day, streamed 2–3 times a day, raised money, and volunteered.
– Ukrainians raised half a million hryvnias for us; they transferred the money to a card, and I transferred it to the families in Kherson and the Kherson region who needed help. I delivered cash to some of them and bought groceries. Our fellow Ukrainians are incredible—people who seemed like complete strangers, but everyone helped; we became like one big family.
Olena Naumova says the occupiers came to her home on Ukrainian Flag Day—August 23.
They forced me to record an apology to the Russian army
– They searched the place, took me “to the basement,” asked a lot of questions, and interrogated me for four days. Then I just sat there for a week, starving and freezing, going crazy from all those sounds. Then they forced me to record an apology to the Russian army, which I had called on to kill, and to the collaborators who supported the Russians here. They took me home and said, “We don’t need you here; we’re deporting you back to your Ukraine” (in Russian).
But Olena’s so-called “deportation” dragged on until the de-occupation of the Kharkiv region and when information began to emerge about the discovery of mass graves near Izyum.
– They came (the occupiers – ed.) and said I’d be leaving soon. I asked, “What date should I book for?” They replied: “We’ll take care of it ourselves” (in Russian). Yeah, I thought, themselves—to the nearest forest strip. I realized I had to get out of there.
The woman says that in order to save her life, she had to stage another abduction.
People simply hid me on the condition that I wouldn’t have any contact with anyone.
– We pretended that I had been taken away. I think the FSB and the GUR can figure out who took whom, since they were the ones demanding money. So let them think that one of them did it. And that’s how I left the house; it was left open for four days until my relatives came and locked everything up.
People simply hid me on the condition that I wouldn’t have any contact with anyone, right up until the return of our Armed Forces. That’s how I was saved.
The teacher recounted how she found out about the de-occupation of Kherson.
– The person who was hiding me went to the store, ran back, and shouted: “Olena, our troops are in the city. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, my dears, are in the city.” I said, “It can’t be.” We started crying and hugging each other. We ran out into the street, stood at the intersection, waited for our troops, saw them, started waving at them, got out our flags, and then I said, “Let’s go to the center.”
Olena says that the emotions from the city being free of the occupiers still overwhelm her.
– The only thing that brought me greater joy was the birth of my son, and then this day—November 11, 2022—will be my second birthday and that of our city.
The woman says she’ll start recording videos for TikTok again as soon as the city has electricity and stable internet.
“Everything will be as it was before, until victory, and then we’ll see. We’ll reach Sevastopol, and everything will be fine.
Russia, despite ample evidence, denies its attacks on civilians and the war crimes committed by its military in Ukraine.
Kherson has returned to Ukrainian control. On November 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were entering the city. The retreat routes of the Russian occupiers are under fire control by the Ukrainian army, the defense ministry noted. On the same day, the Ukrainian flag was raised in the city center.
Olena Naumova is a teacher at Kindergarten No. 41 in Kherson. During the Russian occupation, she shared stories about life in the city on TikTok, where she is known as vyhovatel_iz_humorom (“Teacher with a Sense of Humor”). The teacher did not hide her pro-Ukrainian stance, and six months after the start of the Russian occupation, she was abducted. The occupiers later released her, and a video appeared online showing her apologizing to the Russian military. After that, Olena disappeared again, and nothing was known about her fate until the city was liberated. In an interview with Radio Free Europe’s “News of the Azov Region” project, she explained where the “Teacher with a Sense of Humor” had been and what had actually happened to her.
“I didn’t hide my patriotism”
We asked Olena why she decided to make videos for TikTok during the occupation of Kherson?
– It wasn’t just me; a lot of people were doing it, but smart people didn’t show themselves. But it just so happened that… What happened, happened.
According to the woman, she and like-minded people filmed patriotic videos every day, streamed 2–3 times a day, raised money, and volunteered.
– Ukrainians raised half a million hryvnias for us; they transferred the money to a card, and I transferred it to the families in Kherson and the Kherson region who needed help. I delivered cash to some of them and bought groceries. Our fellow Ukrainians are incredible—people who seemed like complete strangers, but everyone helped; we became like one big family.
“They interrogated me for four days”
Olena Naumova says the occupiers came to her home on Ukrainian Flag Day—August 23.
They forced me to record an apology to the Russian army
– They searched the place, took me “to the basement,” asked a lot of questions, and interrogated me for four days. Then I just sat there for a week, starving and freezing, going crazy from all those sounds. Then they forced me to record an apology to the Russian army, which I had called on to kill, and to the collaborators who supported the Russians here. They took me home and said, “We don’t need you here; we’re deporting you back to your Ukraine” (in Russian).
But Olena’s so-called “deportation” dragged on until the de-occupation of the Kharkiv region and when information began to emerge about the discovery of mass graves near Izyum.
– They came (the occupiers – ed.) and said I’d be leaving soon. I asked, “What date should I book for?” They replied: “We’ll take care of it ourselves” (in Russian). Yeah, I thought, themselves—to the nearest forest strip. I realized I had to get out of there.
Hiding until de-occupation
The woman says that in order to save her life, she had to stage another abduction.
People simply hid me on the condition that I wouldn’t have any contact with anyone.
– We pretended that I had been taken away. I think the FSB and the GUR can figure out who took whom, since they were the ones demanding money. So let them think that one of them did it. And that’s how I left the house; it was left open for four days until my relatives came and locked everything up.
People simply hid me on the condition that I wouldn’t have any contact with anyone, right up until the return of our Armed Forces. That’s how I was saved.
“Second Birthday”
The teacher recounted how she found out about the de-occupation of Kherson.
– The person who was hiding me went to the store, ran back, and shouted: “Olena, our troops are in the city. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, my dears, are in the city.” I said, “It can’t be.” We started crying and hugging each other. We ran out into the street, stood at the intersection, waited for our troops, saw them, started waving at them, got out our flags, and then I said, “Let’s go to the center.”
Olena says that the emotions from the city being free of the occupiers still overwhelm her.
– The only thing that brought me greater joy was the birth of my son, and then this day—November 11, 2022—will be my second birthday and that of our city.
The woman says she’ll start recording videos for TikTok again as soon as the city has electricity and stable internet.
“Everything will be as it was before, until victory, and then we’ll see. We’ll reach Sevastopol, and everything will be fine.
Russia, despite ample evidence, denies its attacks on civilians and the war crimes committed by its military in Ukraine.
Kherson has returned to Ukrainian control. On November 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were entering the city. The retreat routes of the Russian occupiers are under fire control by the Ukrainian army, the defense ministry noted. On the same day, the Ukrainian flag was raised in the city center.
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.