KEY POINTS

  • Russian soldiers reportedly killed almost 100 cows for food while occupying Lukashivka
  • They are also accused of destroying a man's farm equipment via shelling
  • The Russians have inflicted $4.3 billion in damages to Ukraine's farming industry: Report

A farmer in Ukraine's Chernihiv region has accused Russian soldiers of killing and barbecuing his cows as well as destroying his equipment, according to a report.

Speaking in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL), Ukrainian farmer Hryhoriy Tkachenko said about 500 Russian soldiers killed almost 100 of his cows and cooked the meat for food during the 21 days they occupied the village of Lukashivka.

"We had 174 milk cows before the war. Now it's down to 81," Tkachenko said in the interview. "They had to feed 500 men, so they killed a cow or two every day—killed calves and grilled the meat. Their attitude to the animals was horrible."

Tkachenko also accused Russian soldiers of destroying his farm equipment via shelling. Some of the equipment destroyed in the attacks included two presses, a mowing machine and a sowing machine, he said. Overall, the Russian troops inflicted at least $600,000 worth of damages on his property during their occupation, Tkachenko claimed.

"The equipment is burned. If the equipment wasn't damaged by shelling, they'd break the tractor windows, shoot the tires and steal the batteries generators and starters. They took apart the vehicles equipped with computers," Tkachenko added.

Throughout Ukraine, it is estimated that the war has inflicted more than $4.3 billion worth of damages to the farming industry, according to a Review of Ukrainian Agricultural Losses from the War in Ukraine produced by the Center for Food Research and Land Use at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Institute in conjunction with the country's Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

The study found that half of the losses ($2.1 billion) are due to the destruction or partial damage of agricultural land and crop failure. At least $1.4 billion of the losses recorded are due to the 2.4 million hectares of winter crops that will remain unharvested because of the war. Ukrainian farmers would also need to spend a total of $926.1 million to replace and repair damaged farming equipment.

In addition, the Ukrainian government would need an estimated $436 million to survey lands at high risk of mine contamination and demine agricultural areas suffering from mine pollution.

Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the Donbas region