Head of the Derhachi City Military Administration in the Kharkiv region on guerrilla resistance to the occupiers, reconstruction work, support for the army and collaboration with 150 donors

By Dmytro Syniak

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After the Russian invasion of the Kharkiv region in February 2022, Viacheslav Zadorenko, Head of the Derhachi community, began leading a guerrilla unit to which more than 20 local residents signed up. The unit took part in combat operations alongside Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, conducted aerial reconnaissance of occupied territories and evacuated people. On 11 September 2022, during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, this unit was the first to enter the large border village of Kozacha Lopan. Mr Zadorenko was born and raised there and served as village mayor from 2010 to 2020. For his actions in 2022, he was awarded the ‘For the Defence of the Hero City of Kharkiv’ medal and the Order ‘For Courage’ of the III degree. He currently heads the Derhachi City Military Administration, which given the size of the community is both suburban to Kharkiv and borders Russia.

 

Viacheslav Zadorenko, Head of the Derhachi City Military Administration, Kharkiv Region

 

How the Russians stole the name of Derkachi

The community centre of the Derhachi community is named after the legendary Cossack Derkach. According to another source, the name comes from the bird derkach, which likes to settle in this area. The bird’s name is derived from the distinctive chirping sound it makes. However, since 1943, the Russian-speaking local Soviet authorities have rejected the Ukrainian name of the city with the letter ‘k’ and instead began using the name with the letter ‘h’ in all documents, without officially renaming it. This was simply because the Russian word diorgat (meaning ‘to jerk’) was closer to these authorities than the Ukrainian name of a bird that was unknown to them. Given the state of war, the Derhachi Military Administration is not currently rushing to restore the town’s historical name, but this is quite possible in the future.

 

 The town of Derhachi as seen from high above

 

War has cost the lives of over 250 civilians in the Derhachi community

 

How has the Derhachi community changed in the three and a half years since the full-scale invasion began?

It has changed significantly. A lot has been destroyed: critical infrastructure, private homes, and educational institutions... But it is people who have changed the most. You see, we are a border community, so many people have relatives and friends in Russia. Some even worked there before the full-scale war broke out. Therefore, we treated Russians like neighbours: we were friends with them, related to them and visited each other during the holidays... However, following the invasion of our territory by Russian occupation forces, the destruction of our homes and the killing of our relatives and loved ones, most local residents consciously changed their views. Now, everyone knows that there is an enemy across the border. Many of our residents have taken up arms and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These are the main changes we have seen…

You said that the community has been severely damaged. What losses has the community suffered as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion?

This invasion has resulted in the deaths of more than 250 civilians and left over 1,000 more injured, some severely. Hundreds of people have also been tortured in Russian torture chambers. Many have been forcibly transported to Russia. As for the destruction... Twenty-two localities have been destroyed to varying degrees, ranging from 60 to 95 per cent. Russian shelling has damaged all 16 of our medical facilities, all 22 of our educational institutions, all 21 of our cultural facilities, all 13 of our sports facilities and all 10 of our administrative buildings. More than 7,000 private and multi-family homes, as well as over 50 units of municipal equipment, including school buses, medical vehicles, evacuation vehicles, and vehicles for delivering humanitarian aid, have also been damaged… As a result of the shelling, 80 per cent of our industrial and agricultural enterprises have been destroyed, and 90 per cent of our cultivated land has been mined. These are the grim statistics.

Were there Russian torture chambers in your community?

And hundreds of local residents passed through them, including border guards, councillors and other local officials, as well as patriots. Our pro-Russian fellow citizens betrayed them. They were beaten, had their ribs broken and teeth knocked out. They were tied to chairs and beaten with electric shocks. Hot wax was dripped into their eyes and needles were stuck under their fingernails. Girls were raped. Russian beasts – all I can say about them… The torture chamber in Kozacha Lopan was so large that people from neighbouring communities and prisoners of war were brought there. There are now criminal cases against collaborators, some of whom are in prison. We will definitely take revenge on the Russians!

How intense are the Russian shellings now?

Since January 2025, the occupiers have dropped roughly 100 aerial bombs on the Derhachi community, launched five ballistic missiles and conducted five artillery, tank, and drone strikes. As a result, 10 local residents have been killed and 35 more have been wounded. These attacks have also destroyed or damaged more than 350 homes and infrastructure facilities.

With 90 per cent of the fields mined, what impact does this have on the community budget? Does it receive any income? Are any businesses operating in the community?

Despite the ongoing shelling, some businesses are returning to the community. Thanks to them, Derhachi remains a powerful economic centre. Consequently, we have sufficient funds to address the most pressing needs. Although our budget has decreased overall by about three times due to the war, our population has only decreased by a third. To support the remaining two-thirds, we must organise the provision of medical, administrative, and utility services. We have therefore reduced our staff numbers by around 60 per cent, but continue to work.

What can you say about migration in your community? By how much has the population of your community decreased?

The Russian offensive against the neighbouring Lyptsi community last year literally opened a new page in our history. Since then, they have been systematically destroying our border villages. Almost 3,000 people, primarily children and those with reduced mobility, have had to be evacuated from there. Several border villages are now closed because they are in an active combat zone. Nevertheless, around 1,000 residents remain in the area, approximately 700 of whom are in the Kozacha Lopan starosta district. Another 20,000 people live in the town of Derhachi. The total population of our community is around 30,000. Before the war began, there were 45,000. These figures illustrate the scale of our losses.

 

 Aftermath of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile strike on Ruska Lozova village on the night of 2–3 July 2024

 

A firefighter putting out a fire that broke out after a Russian S-300 missile hit the administrative building of the Slatyne starosta district on 23 June 2024

 

The building of the inclusive resource centre for children, located in the former Derhachi town council building, destroyed on 30 March 2022 by Russian Kalibr cruise missiles

 

One of the Russian unmanned aerial vehicles that fell on Slatyne village on 12 April 2024 and did not detonate

Typical view of private houses in the Derhachi community after attempts by Russian ‘liberators’ to ‘save’ their ‘Ukrainian brothers’ from normal life. House destroyed by Russian air strike in Slatyne village, 18 April 2025  

Many residents of the Derhachi community became homeless overnight. Members of the Proliska NGO providing humanitarian aid to residents of Slatyne village, whose homes were damaged by aerial bombardments on 15 April 2025

 

On the guerrilla unit of the Derhachi community and assistance to the army

 

Not every community leader has received military awards. Please tell us why you were awarded them.

In February 2022, only a few soldiers from the 92nd and 93rd Brigades were present in our community. We knew we had to help them. This is why we formed a guerrilla resistance movement whose goal was to provide the military with information about local roads, hills, transport and more. Local residents joined the movement, including farmers, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and utility workers… We carried out various military tasks and conducted reconnaissance for seven months. I personally travelled to the occupied territory three times. During the successful offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Ruska Lozova village on 29 April 2022, my unit collaborated with the units of the Main Intelligence Directorate. Then, on 11 September 2022, we liberated our entire community from the Russian bastards together with National Guard soldiers. It was a remarkable victory! I do not want to exaggerate: my unit did not come into direct fire contact with the Russians, except for dropping ammunition on them from drones. Nevertheless, we were quite useful. For instance, while exploring the grey zone near Pytomnyk village, we discovered Russian ammunition and handed it over to our artillerymen. This enabled them to continue firing on the enemy for an additional 3–4 days. Similarly, we handed over three abandoned Russian tanks and a large quantity of various weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Why was it necessary to form a guerrilla unit? After all, joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine would have been an option.

The enemy was advancing very quickly. There was no time to travel to Kharkiv to enlist in the Army. Instead, we took whatever weapons were available, bought ammunition and vehicles with our own money, and joined the defence efforts. We worked alongside the 92nd, 93rd, 72nd, and 80th Brigades, as well as various National Guard units. We did not allow the enemy to enter Derhachi. However, when discussing guerrilla resistance, it is important to emphasise the role of civilians as well as soldiers. Utility workers dug trenches at night using tractors and other vehicles, often with only torches and lighters for illumination. Despite the shelling that killed and wounded some of them, energy workers restored the power supply, which was crucial for defence. Our medical personnel treated wounded and sick soldiers. Our farmers provided the wheat that our bakers used to bake bread for local residents and soldiers, as it was impossible to deliver bread from Kharkiv. It was all this work by local people and guerrillas – this national resistance movement – that created a reliable rear for our Armed Forces. Therefore, I do not consider my awards to be solely my own. The entire community has been honoured through me. And I am sincerely proud to live and work among such patriotic and heroic people.

With your military experience, surely you do not leave the army without support?

Of course! We purchase whatever the military require and provide them with funding. I doubt there are many other communities in Ukraine that can boast such amounts. The following amounts were allocated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine from our budget: UAH 110 million for 2023, UAH 65 million for 2024 and UAH 16 million for the first six months of 2025. Unfortunately, this assistance is decreasing because our budget is decreasing too. In 2023, it also included military personal income tax.

You were the mayor of Kozacha Lopan, a village right on the border, for ten years. You say that there are still 700 people living there. Why haven’t they been evacuated?

Because they are not willing to evacuate. This is despite the fact that life in Kozacha Lopan is very difficult; residents have neither electricity nor gas. Most of them are elderly and have livestock, for which they feel responsible. Ironically and sadly, they are willing to risk their lives for their cows and pigs. This makes our work extremely challenging, as we must find ways to deliver humanitarian aid to the village. Seeing what is happening to Kozacha Lopan is especially painful for me, because almost everything we built there over ten years has been destroyed. It was a wonderful village! There were shops, schools, a clinic, even a grain collection point, a rescue station, and a fire station... My family built a modern restaurant there. The enemy destroyed it all. They even dropped a 500-kilogramme laser-guided bomb on my house. You can imagine what was left of it after that…

 Viacheslav Zadorenko taking direct part in the evacuation of an elderly resident of the frontline Prudianka village. Less than 1 km to Russian military positions. June 2022

A scene from the everyday life of the guerrilla resistance movement. Viacheslav Zadorenko is on the right. June 2022

 A group photo of the Derhachi community’s guerrilla unit with the Antytila music band, whose members fought in the community as part of the territorial defence forces. July 2022

Viacheslav Zadorenko and Liudmila Vakulenko, starosta of Kozacha Lopan village, on the first day of the village’s liberation from the Russians during the Slobozhanskyi counteroffensive on 11 September 2022

 

Viacheslav Zadorenko presenting a symbol of community defence – a sword – to the commander of one of the National Guard brigades that liberated northern part of the Kharkiv region. Kozacha Lopan, 12 September 2022

 During the transfer of military drones purchased by the Derhachi community with its own funds. Derhachi, 3 December 2024

 

Shoulder-to-Shoulder with partners

 

The Derhachi community recently allocated UAH 10 million to develop a general plan for the town. Is this a timely decision?

Of course! After the war, we will need a clear vision and strategy for the development of our community. We need to know where multi-storey buildings will be located, where the private sector will be based, and where eco-parks, public utilities, medical facilities, and educational institutions will be situated. Furthermore, all land plots must have the correct designation and cadastral number. This cannot be done quickly. However, if we have all this in place, it will be easier for us to attract investment. I also support the main idea behind the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project: creating strong communities as outposts on the border with Russia. This is the only way we can protect our borders.

Please describe your community’s experience participating in the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project in more detail.

This is a very important and necessary project. Let me tell you more: the ‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’ project should have launched in 2022. It should involve neighbouring communities, not distant ones. However, we are delighted that the Brovary community in the Kyiv region has become our partner in this project. Like ours, this community is suburban, so they understand our problems very well. Ihor Sapozhko, the community leader, has already visited us twice to see for himself how we live here. He did not come empty-handed; he brought drones for our military. Subsequently, Brovary allocated a subsidy for the rehabilitation of our children, who either survived the occupation or lost relatives and loved ones as a result of the Russian invasion. The Brovary community also provided UAH 2 million for the repair of two public wells. This will enable people to collect clean spring water. I hope that our cooperation with Brovary will continue and be highly effective. I am very pleased that our community does not feel alone. We feel that both the regional and central authorities are paying attention to us. Such unity is crucial for defence.

You have extensive experience of attracting investment. Do you still cooperate with various international donors?

Absolutely. Thanks to international support, we have been able to rebuild destroyed buildings and receive humanitarian aid. The municipality of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has helped us a lot. For example, our utility companies recently received EUR 93,500 from them to purchase a portal garbage truck and a container for it. This will help us to solve the problem of bulky waste. Every year, Lithuanian family doctors and dentists come to us to provide free services to our residents. While they were working in Kozacha Lopan, they even came under fire. A Russian shell pierced the roof of the building in which they were staying. Fortunately, no one was hurt, although the building was destroyed. We thought that after that the doctors would stop their mission. But no, they continue to come to us and even say that they have a waiting list in Lithuania to come here. We also cooperate with non-governmental organisations in Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States. In total, we have partnerships with 150 international charitable organisations. First and foremost, these are Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv, DESPRO, Eleos-Ukraine, People in Need Ukraine, BLUE/YELLOW, Proliska, To Ukraine with Love, Corus International, CodeIT4life, Frontline, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), WeWorld, Dobrobat and many more.

One hundred and fifty partners is a significant number. What kind of support do you receive from them?

Thanks to our partners, our apartment buildings are constantly being repaired. Windows and entrance doors are being replaced and basements are being renovated. DESPRO, a public organisation that has been working with us for five years, has helped us repair the roofs, windows and doors of nine multi-storey buildings during this time. In total, donors have helped us repair over a thousand houses. We have also received over 50 modular houses from them, each of which cost between USD 20,000 and USD 120,000. Donors also purchase vehicles and various pieces of equipment for us. This amounts to hundreds of millions of hryvnias.

Is the assistance provided by partners only for reconstruction?

No, not only that. For example, the To Ukraine with Love Foundation, which receives donations from the United States, organised a trip for 50 children from our community to live with American families for three to five months. This is important not only for learning English, but also for the future of Ukraine in general.

How are you seeking international assistance?

We owe a lot to the media for introducing our community to the world in 2022. But we did not sit back and wait. We invited journalists to visit us, showing them our way of life and the conditions in which we work. We also told them about our resistance movement. Before long, we began to receive offers of help from all over the world. We also actively participated in all thematic forums on reconstruction, even looking for partners in Japan. We always emphasised to all our partners that those helping Ukrainians today are becoming part of modern history by contributing to the defence of good against evil. This is important to many people. We always publish the results of our cooperation on our websites. Others see this and also get involved in helping.

 

At the opening of a safe public space in Bezruky village. September 2023

 Despite everything. This year’s graduates from the Bezruky Lyceum in the Derhachi community

 Community residents receiving humanitarian aid at the Derhachi Humanitarian Centre, 2 September 2023

 

 Volunteers replacing the roof of a private house damaged by Russian shelling in Slatyne village, 6 August 2023

The building of the Primary Health Care Centre in Derhachi after the completion of emergency repair work on the eve of its opening, 11 March 2023

 

 Two-storey buildings in one of the Derhachi neighbourhoods, renovated at public expense in 2024, photo taken on 9 July 2024

 

We are number one in the region...

 

What has happened to the large enterprises that used to operate in your community? Have they remained there?

They have all suffered greatly and lost much of their property. In an attempt to save what little they have left, they have moved to other regions. Some have gone to Lviv, some to Zhytomyr and some even further than that. However, we are negotiating with them and asking them not to re-register elsewhere. This gives us the opportunity to work in difficult conditions such as those imposed by martial law. To enable them to return, we are trying to rebuild infrastructure, including roads and water supply systems, as quickly as possible. Seeing the community being rebuilt in wartime gives people hope that they will be able to return home. Many people say that they will return as soon as the shelling stops. Therefore, our current focus is on rebuilding our community centre in the town of Derhachi, which is thankfully now being targeted less frequently. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about the border area, which is under heavy Russian attack. It has been completely destroyed. Some people say that now is not the right time to build a new, modern hospital or an underground school, and that all available funds should be allocated to supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine instead. But what about those who have not left or fled and who believe in their country? Do they not deserve a decent life? If we do not provide that for our people, they will leave. If they leave, there will be no incentive for big business to return here. Without business, our community will collapse. Therefore, to bring people back, we must create the right conditions for them to live in.

You said that you had reduced the number of staff at the town council and its subordinate enterprises by 60 per cent. At the same time, the community lost a third of its population. Are you not short of personnel?

No, but there is a problem with the sharp increase in workload for those who remain. For example, if a garbage truck driver used to cover two routes, they now cover four. However, employees who take on more work also receive more money. Despite staff reductions, we are first in the region for support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, housing and utilities sector reform, and reconstruction.

How exactly are you reforming the housing and utilities sector?

In fact, our community started operating at the beginning of 2021. When I assessed the state of the utility sector at that time, I was horrified. There were no tractors, just one garbage truck and a broken Gazelle van. Instead, there were dilapidated pumping stations with trees growing on them, neglected equipment, leaking roofs and outdated, barely functional Soviet-era machines. Despite the war, however, we managed to purchase 21 municipal vehicles, redistribute responsibilities among utility companies, purchase the necessary equipment, and recruit professional staff. We have now replaced over 4 km of water pipes, repaired all pumping stations and replaced all pumping equipment. We have also developed design and cost estimates for modern treatment facilities. With the support of the GEIPP programme, which provided UAH 86 million to finance the project, we also received UAH 60 million from the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. I hope that, in the coming years, we will have our own treatment facilities, something the town has never had before. We have also joined the Community Police Officer project. Officers issue fines to those who violate waste management rules.

 

Viacheslav Zadorenko holds four higher education qualifications

In 2002, he graduated from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy with a law degree.

In 2005, he became a specialist in international economic relations at the International Slavic University.

In 2010, he received a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Kharkiv Regional Institute of Public Administration of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine.

In 2024, he received a Master’s degree in Applied Political Science from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk.

 

How are the schools in Derhachi operating?

Twelve general education institutions are currently operating remotely, with 3,800 students enrolled (1,400 of whom reside in the community) In collaboration with the Code IT charity, we have established safe spaces in our lyceums and kindergartens. With the support of the regional military administration, we are continuing to construct a counter-radiation shelter. In fact, we are building an entire underground school on the grounds of one of our lyceums, with capacity for around 400 children. We are also building shelters in other schools and kindergartens. It is now a requirement of the times.

You have quite an unusual biography. As well as military awards, it includes four higher education qualifications. You received the last one last year. So, despite the shelling and your heavy workload, you still found time to study and prepare for exams?

After graduating from Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, I enrolled at the International Slavic University, where I obtained a degree in International Economics. While working as a village mayor, I also studied at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, graduating with a degree in public administration. Subsequently, I was offered a place at Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk to study Political Science. As our work is all about politics, this education is invaluable to me.

 With his immediate superior. Viacheslav Zadorenko is very pleased that his community constantly feels the attention of both regional and central authorities. ‘Such integrity of the state is very important in defence,’ he says. 29 July 2024