Saturday 14 May 2022 11:04 PM IAN BIRRELL: Putin's executioners left these three brothers in a pit to die trends now

Saturday 14 May 2022 11:04 PM IAN BIRRELL: Putin's executioners left these three brothers in a pit to die trends now
Saturday 14 May 2022 11:04 PM IAN BIRRELL: Putin's executioners left these three brothers in a pit to die trends now

Saturday 14 May 2022 11:04 PM IAN BIRRELL: Putin's executioners left these three brothers in a pit to die trends now

As Mykola Kulichenko stumbled out of the Russian military jeep, his body aching from another beating after three days of torture and with a blindfold over his eyes, he realised that he was about to be executed.

Beside him stood his older brother Dmytro, 37, and Evheniy, the youngest in their close-knit family at 30. Like him, their legs were tied, their hands bound, their bodies battered and bruised.

And they could hear the sound of their grave being dug beneath the poplar trees near Vyshneve, a usually peaceful part of northern Ukraine close to the Belarus border.

The Russian soldiers did not say anything as the three terrified brothers stood there. There was a shot – and Mykola realised Evheniy had fallen to the ground.

As Mykola Kulichenko stumbled out of the Russian military jeep, his body aching from another beating after three days of torture and with a blindfold over his eyes, he realised that he was about to be executed

As Mykola Kulichenko stumbled out of the Russian military jeep, his body aching from another beating after three days of torture and with a blindfold over his eyes, he realised that he was about to be executed

'I just heard the sound of a click, like their pistols had silencers on,' he recalled. 'Then they started making fun, saying, 'Oh, your younger one is ready', as he was lying there.

'Then they shot Dmytro, who was standing next to me. There was another click and he dropped. And then they shot me.'

There have been many sordid revelations of atrocities, barbarity and callous war crimes over the past 11 weeks after Vladimir Putin's decision to send his military forces rampaging into Ukraine.

But the story this 33-year-old man is telling me sounds like something from a horror movie. He survived his own execution – and then pushed aside his brother's body and the covering soil to crawl out of his shallow grave and stagger his way to salvation.

Incredibly, the bullet made only superficial wounds as it passed through his head. It entered through his right cheek and exited in soft tissue beside his ear, leaving just a small hole in his flesh.

'It was scary, of course, but I did not feel anything,' said Mykola, a rural labourer. 'It was not painful. I was in shock. I could feel the blood dropping from my cheek.'

His story is remarkable. Not only did he survive the execution squad meant to kill him, but he then evaded the heavy Russian military presence in occupied Ukrainian territory to find his way to the home of an elderly good Samaritan.

'I just heard the sound of a click, like their pistols had silencers on,' he recalled. 'Then they started making fun, saying, 'Oh, your younger one is ready', as he was lying there. 'Then they shot Dmytro, who was standing next to me. There was another click and he dropped

'I just heard the sound of a click, like their pistols had silencers on,' he recalled. 'Then they started making fun, saying, 'Oh, your younger one is ready', as he was lying there. 'Then they shot Dmytro, who was standing next to me. There was another click and he dropped

'I saw that he was severely beaten and he was blue. He was covered in soil. I took him inside and gave him breakfast and to wash his face,' said Valentina. 'Every time we meet we hug – he's like family to me now.'

Yet Mykola is still coming to terms with the awful loss of his real family members due to the inhumanity of some Russian troops who took over the sleepy village of Dovzhyk where he lived with his two brothers and sister Iryna.

Their nightmare began with loud explosions near their home early on the morning of March 18, followed by rumours swirling around their village that some Russian military hardware nearby had been destroyed.

Yet the day seemed normal. They ate lunch, then Dmytro and Evheniy gave each other haircuts while Iryna went to visit a neighbour. She hid from the Russian soldiers who were prowling around the village 'because they were shooting any civilians they saw in the street'.

Suddenly Mykola saw a Tigr – a 4x4 Russian military vehicle used by infantry – parked outside their home. Soldiers demanded their documents, then two of them entered the house and

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