There’s perhaps no bigger fear as a parent than sending your child off to war. The weeks and months of waiting for them to return can be excruciating. But one Ukrainian mom’s wait is over after her town was liberated and she was reunited with her son. Derhachi District Mayor Vyacheslav Zadorenko posted the video to his Facebook. In it, we see his mother rushing to the car, overcome with emotion at the sight her son.
In the video, we see Zadorenko drive up to his home with several other soldiers. His mother runs swiftly toward the vehicle, overcome with emotion as she wraps her son in a warm embrace. The scene takes place in Derhachi, which was swept up in the Battle of Kharkiv and had been under Russian control. However, in recent weeks Ukraine has launched an impressive counteroffensive and liberated the town.
The breakdown of the conversation, which takes place in Russian, was translated by Zoya Sheftalovich, a contributing editor for Politico. According to Sheftalovich, who is based in Syndey but was born in Ukraine, Zadorenko’s mom says the following.
“My darling! My love! I was waiting for you! I knew it; I knew you’d come, my flower bloomed. I thought the war would end when my flower bloomed.”
She continues, “Oh god, you gems. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, everyone is safe. I was waiting for you to come. I took all your thing, I saved everything, everything to the last gram.”
Zadorenko then tells his mother how much he has missed her. In typical mom fashion, his mother wonders if he and his fellow soldiers might be hungry. She exclaims, “I’ve made a borsch, boys, I’ve made a borsch, how about I feed all you?” As they hug repeatedly, her son lets her know that it’s ok and there will be plenty of time to eat.
Other town residents also gather around the tear-jerking scene, letting the soldiers know how much their hard work is appreciated. The wide smiles and warm embraces are contagious, with Zadorneko’s mother showing how faith and hope can be rewarded. She always believed in her son, stating, “Oh my golden boy, I knew you’d free me.”
This heartwarming video shows a Ukrainian soldier reuniting with his mom, after liberating their village from Russian occupation.
The video was posted by Derhachi District Mayor Vyacheslav Zadorenko and shows his mother rushing to greet him.
As she sees him, she exclaims, “My darling! My love! I was waiting for you! I knew it; I knew you’d come.”
Mother and son continue to embrace, celebrating his return home.
And, in typical mom fashion, she asks if her son and fellow soldiers would like some borsch that she’d made.
The full heartwarming conversation was kindly translated into English here:
Here’s what they’re saying (almost all in Russian, the mum just uses the Ukrainian word for ‘boys’). Not that you need my translation – the meaning is clear. https://t.co/pLYaI3OhdC pic.twitter.com/on7Cnq54qb
— Zoya Sheftalovich (@zoyashef) September 14, 2022
h/t: [Bored Panda]
All images via Vyacheslav Zadorenko.
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