On September 18, the town of Toropets experienced one of its worst nights in recent history. As a result of a massive attack of Ukrainian drones, a large-scale fire and a series of explosions started, which damaged many facilities, including thirteen churches. Alexey Gunkin, a regular contributor to Pravoslavie.Ru website, who happened to be at the epicenter of the events, spoke about the extraordinary level of self-organization and care shown by the residents of the city, the surrounding villages and hamlets as they helped one another.
“I woke up from loud popping sounds. The explosions weren’t so powerful yet, but I immediately knew that something was wrong…
We grabbed the kids and some stuff we managed to get our hands on and drove off… We were among the first to evacuate, but the road was already full of cars, and there were also people leaving the town on foot...
Our house? I don't know, but it’s possible it's destroyed by now. The main thing is that we are safe, thank God!”
“Our neighbors have a car, so they wanted to take us with them, but we also have another family with children living nearby. So, we told them: Take the kids! Eight people crammed into that car. We made our way to the church, because that’s where others were hiding.
Many people rushed to the church—those who didn't have a cellar.”
“There was no panic. Albeit hastily and hurriedly, everyone helped each other. Then, in the middle of it all, we saw a guy walking down the street with an icon, as if nothing had happened. Everyone was rushing back and forth, fire trucks were rushing by, but there he was, walking with his icon...”
“Mikhail took the ‘Burning Bush’ Icon and walked in procession around the city.”
“’Are these your relatives?’
“No. We drove to the highway and just saw them standing at the bus stop in bewilderment. We took them to our place. Then we went again and, once we came closer to the city, we picked up this old lady. My wife is giving them some soup to eat right now.”
“An hour and a half later, when people figured out what had actually happened, the first messages appeared on the wall of the VKontakte group called “Heard in Toropets:” ‘Staraya Toropa. Central Street, bld... Willing to take in some people’ ‘Andreapol. Two-room apartment. Will host a family. Tel...’ ‘Nelidovo. Minibus. Willing to take out eight people. Tel...’; ‘Zapadnaya Dvina...’; ‘Kholm...’; ‘Velikie Luki...’.”
Locals offered help for free, but the bots intended to disinform, spread panic, and cause conflicts
“Then, about three hours later, we saw a lot of bots1 acting as follows: For example, someone writes an ad that he is ready to take out four people. The good Samaritan adds a phone number and the bot immediately writes in the comments section: “Just called him. Asking five thousand per person.” Of course, this wasn’t true. People helped for free, but the bots were created to disinform, spread panic and stir up conflict.
“Some would begin arguing with the bots, but that's exactly what their creators wanted—to jam the newsfeed.
“Those comments were deleted later, but along with them were also deleted the messages and videos of eyewitnesses that helped the community to sort out the situation.”
“At the detonation, I was thrown out of my bed. The windows were shaking. Then a neighbor knocked and told me to leave—the warehouses had caught on fire.
“I limped towards the road in what I was wearing. There, I met the soldiers who dragged me by the scruff of the neck into their Kamaz truck and took me to safety. As you can see, they also bandaged my leg…
“Some liar told me that our house had burned down. I had neither my phone nor any documents with me. I really thought that had I lost everything but what I was wearing—along with my flip-flops.
“Then some strangers took me to Staraya Toropa. There, in the Refugee Center, they gave fus ood and found a place to stay. Some people brought me shoes.
“The next day I decided to check my home, at least to see what was left of it.
It has no doors, no windows, no interior walls, but it is still standing.
I took a couple of things with me. I was walking and praying. Then I met the same soldiers I met the first night. I simply ran into them! And so, they brought me to Toropa one more time! My thanks to them!”
“Guys, thanks for your help! One guy took me to the village of Pozhnya, another one further down to the village of Podgorodneye, the third one—from the Nishevitskaya road to where it crosses the bypass road... I don't know their last names, but I feel so grateful to them!”
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the hotel-estate “Seasons of the Year” for their warm welcome, hot meals, and accommodation. May there always be peace, goodness and prosperity in your homes! Many thanks for behaving so humanely!!!”
“When we got settled, a man came up. He gave me a thousand rubles. He just said: ‘In case need anything!”
“In Zapadnaya Dvina, when first people came in—dressed in whatever, a local store owner opened up his shop and gave out free jackets and clothing to anyone who needed them.”
A local business owner opened up his shop and handed out free jackets and clothing to anyone in need
“The public reaction was so powerful!
“People offered free rides, they offered their apartments for stay in various parts of the region and even farther... People would offer gasoline to whoever needed it, and whatnot. As soon as there was news that something was missing someplace, people would deliver the stuff right away! It didn’t matter if it was two hundred kilometers away or even more.”
“The morning came, and fresh bread was delivered from Ilyino.”
“As early as 4 a.m., the churches in Staraya Toropa, Ilyino, Bibirevo, Metlino opened their doors to accept people; other churches in Kholm, Rzhev, Velikie Luki called and offered assistance... They joined the local administration efforts and took people in and arranged meals.”
“Locals flocked there and brought pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. Whoever was able, invited people to stay in their homes.”
Temporary shelter for those who had to leave their homes.
“Complete strangers picked us up. They took us to the Novy Bor village. They helped us to find accommodation and fed us. Thanks to all!”
“We don't know the owners. They themselves picked us up on the road. They calmed us down and took us in.”
“We decided to simply drive away as far as possible from town. In the village of Vorobyi, we saw people waving to us: ‘Come on in!’”
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to a family from the village of Dobsho… Many thanks to you, for offering us shelter and sharing the warmth of your hearts with us. May God grant you good health!”
“We would like to express our gratitude to the family from the Kunya settlement that received and accommodated eighteen people from Toropets.”
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the family that sheltered us in the village of Lyapunovo... Our deepest gratitude from the bottom of our hearts!”
“We express our deep gratitude to the Pozhenskaya school, where we found shelter, warmth and food… Really kind and compassionate people. Everyone was greeted right at the road. Thanks you all, you’re so caring and responsive!”
“Such an uneasy night! Everyone was a bundle of nerves… Then, suddenly we saw someone walking in the back alley carrying flashlights. And then we heard the singing, ‘Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death...’”
“A tiny Cross procession carrying icons of the Three Holy Hierarchs, the Vladimirskaya Icon and St. Spiridon’s is walking around their village. People believe that even if the forest catches fire and there’s wall of fire—it will stop right here!
“May it be unto you according to your faith!”
“Once we heard the news, we immediately took to reading an Akathist. Thank God, everyone we know is alive and well! God is merciful! But He still keeps warning us over and over again, according to our deeds... It’s truly awful to die without repentance!”
“Firefighters carried out many people. What stuck in memory was people’s heroism and kindness. If we preserve such an attitude, everything will be okay!”
“The local social networks groups, especially “Heard in Toropets,” really helped! But some criticized the people who asked such questions as, ‘What's the situation on this or that street?’ or, ‘Is this or that house still standing?’
“But what if people can't get through to their relatives and they are worried about them! Where else would they know the truth?
“Thank you all who casually write, ‘Everything’s fine, the college is unhurt!’ or ‘No, there is no fire in Berdyshi!’ or ‘I just drove by Cheremushky. The windows are smashed, but the houses are standing intact…’
“When there is an information vacuum, every single bit of information becomes truly valuable!”
“People are confused and they fear for the lives of their relatives. But mutual assistance and community support efforts were really great! The way our people are handling situations like this one is priceless!”
“If people got so terrified, imagine what it was like for our pets! Dogs broke loose and ran away, cats huddled inside the attics, the goats darted around in their pens... But some folks even managed to judge the pet owners for their messages on social media, like in ‘We had to leave with our kids in a rush and forgot to untie our dog. Please do it for us! She won’t bite you! Our address is…’”
A day later, we had a really hard time catching one of our two cats to take him away. Poor kitty was absolutely terrified!
The town is full of lost animals running around. People feed them and find them temporary foster homes.
“A day after it happened, we were about to install broken window frames. I was inside the house and batiushka stayed outside.
“‘Oh my,’ he says, ‘I see a white swan flying over! It’s returning to the lakes.’”
“The Church of All Saints is located on the hill. It overlooks the town. It is the closest to the depot compared to other churches, so it bore the brunt of the attack. Not a single window was left intact, the frames all fell inside... At the time of explosion, its bells began to ring on their own. The gatehouse was blown down, but the bell tower is standing, its cross shining brightly in the sun. It wasn’t destroyed. The church held out.
“If the church stays standing, it means the town is here to stay!”
“Toropets has been here for a thousand years—and it will stand forever!”
