Traveling with some friends in Ukraine...small village museum near Bukrin. This museum commemorates the feint crossing of the Dnieper in 1943. All items are recovered from the battlefield. With the Dnieper dammed up now....most of the actual crossing and original battle sights are under water. There are many original positions that show trenches and battle debris. This area was very popular for digging.
Local villages here...were emptied of all available men. It cost the lives of over 300,000 Soviet men including a paratrooper drop of over 2000 men that all combined to keep German SS units including Wiking from being used at the actual crossing that liberated Kiev.
A large monument that commemorates the feint/holding action of this battle. Traditional Soviet sculpture of heroic poses and action like these are found in every corner of the old Soviet Union. Near here are benches where the old veterans sit together to commemorate the war. There are not many young people left in these rural areas as most try to get to the city. Near here is the city of Kanev where the most famous Ukrainian writer Shevshenko has a monument over looking the Dnieper.
The car is a 1978 Volga sedan. It was a rugged car...and the roads matched it in this part of the world.
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