Endless lines of
of refugees fleeing the war: women who managed to grab the most necessary
things, children clutching their pets whom they could not leave behind, pensioners whom the vile Russian aggressor
pensioners who are being driven to a foreign land by the vile Russian aggressor. Tears,
pain, despair.
This is an everyday
picture for many checkpoints on the Ukrainian border in the first hours,
days, weeks, months of the war.
Most of the people
of the people fleeing Russian bullets, shells, missiles, and bombs were crossing the Ukrainian-Polish
border. To organize fast border crossing, heating, first aid, water, food, and
assistance, help with water, food, clothing and basic necessities
and other basic necessities, and to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered without unnecessary bureaucracy. All
these issues from the first hours of the full-scale Russian aggression faced
Lviv Customs.
There were plenty of incredible
cases at the customs then were numerous: men disguised as women to cross the border, and complete
strangers supported each other, children carried their pets and even goldfish, and the then head of Lviv customs was even
was offered to take advantage of the situation and facilitate the sale of children abroad. We
talked to Daniel Menshikov, the then head of Lviv Customs, and he told UNN firsthand about the most difficult days
of the Ukrainian-Polish border in the history of Ukraine.
- What was it like for you?
the war started for you.
Around five o'clock in the morning
o'clock in the morning, someone from the management called and said that the war had started. Within
hour later, my deputies and I were at work. At first, there was a lack of understanding
what instructions to expect, whether to call anyone. But we were not
confused, because we had to make decisions quickly. We just started
doing our job.
I was well aware
that there would be a large flow of people fleeing the war, that we would face
a large number of atypical and non-standard situations, that we would have to make
decisions that in peacetime would require coordination. But I was ready to take on this responsibility.
I was ready to take on this responsibility.
On the very first day, I created a humanitarian headquarters at the Lviv customs
a humanitarian headquarters at the Lviv customs office, involving many people who are able to
to quickly and efficiently solve a large number of issues. This headquarters worked in
in many areas and even became an advisory body to the State Customs Service.
The contacts of the headquarters instantly spread throughout Ukraine. People
no longer called to resolve customs issues - most of the calls
were related to humanitarian issues. For example, in the first weeks of the
of the invasion, we received calls from pensioners in Kyiv who needed food and were either unable or afraid to go out.
they could not or were afraid to go out. There were also calls asking for help
in the evacuation, for example, from Gostomel. The headquarters responded to everything and coordinated people
with those who could provide them with the necessary assistance on the spot.
The headquarters also informed people about the rules for importing
of humanitarian aid, which were constantly changing at the time, and helped with samples of
of documents. In addition, the headquarters developed proposals for changes to the customs
legislation regarding the import of humanitarian aid. We were constantly working with
Polish colleagues to facilitate easier importation of dual-use goods
dual-use goods needed by our military.
- When exactly on February 24
February 24, the first Ukrainians appeared at your customs posts.
In about three hours, the
hours later, the first people began to appear at the checkpoints. And quite quickly it
turned into an endless stream of people. Our checkpoints were simply
not ready for this.
Confused, nervous women, children with tears in their eyes, grandparents on crutches or in wheelchairs.
crutches or in wheelchairs. People could stand in line for up to ten
days to get a pass. But they need something to eat and drink, to go to the toilet, to wash, to warm up somewhere,
to hide from the rain and snow.
This was our
was a primary challenge for us, and we coped with it. The headquarters, together with the Red Cross
organized tents for people to stay and food. We provided people with
with hygiene products and other basic necessities, and many of them even with clothes.
After all, people fleeing from Russian missiles and shells simply did not have
time to pack their bags, and when they got to the border, they simply had nothing
had nothing to change into.
- Earlier, about
hundreds of thousands, millions of refugees fleeing the horrors of war, we used to watch
on TV or read in the news. On the morning of February 24, 2022, this
became our reality. You came to the EECP many times then, and talked to
these people. What was their
condition was. Was it some kind of total depression and despair, or was there still a sense of
people still believed in our army and our victory.
During those first months, various situations occurred at the
months, various situations occurred at the checkpoints. And not very pleasant ones, when
when people lost their nerve.
But mostly
complete strangers always tried to help each other, to support each other
with a warm word, always looking for a reason to smile and be happy.
During that time, seven children were born
seven babies were born in the occupied territory. When the first birth happened, I was
I received a call, a report and was told that the holiday was absolutely for everyone who was at the
who was at the checkpoint at the time. I didn't believe it at first.
And then one day
I came to another checkpoint and went to the birth myself. A baby was born.
a baby was born. A smiling mother, a smiling father, who was already in military uniform
was seeing his beloved off abroad. And everyone around me is smiling too.
And this is some kind of
incredible burst of positive energy from the fact that, despite all the
difficulties, a new life is born. At such a moment, you realize that we are an indestructible nation.
Another thing that impressed me a lot was how our people saved
their pets. I remember a strong, prickly wind, a mother with two bags, a grandmother with
two bags, and a girl of about
five years old, clutching a jar of water with a goldfish swimming in it. It would seem that this is
just a fish, how many more will she have... but the child does not leave it and rescues
his goldfish, which fulfilled his main wish - to survive with his family and
and escape from the war. To be honest, I often thought about this girl and thought that the fish
fulfilled the wishes not only of her owner, but probably of thousands of our countrymen who
who stood in lines and saved themselves and their families from enemy shells.
And how many people crossed through our checkpoints during those
cats, dogs, parrots, guinea pigs, hamsters, hamsters, and other animals have entered the EU through our checkpoints in the past few months,
guinea pigs, hamsters and other animals - it makes no sense to even count.
I remember horses,
were rescued. We helped an equestrian club from Kharkiv. They had a problem with not having
they did not have all the documents for export. And here we have these vans with horses,
the animals are nervous, screaming. But they solved the issue and transported the horses.
In general, the problem with
The problem with the transportation of animals was that the Poles issued phytosanitary documents for them
Poles issued phytosanitary documents for them only at two checkpoints and only from eight in the morning to
eight in the evening. Then the Ukrainian government held talks with the Polish side,
We were part of the delegation from the Ukrainian side. The Poles met us halfway and stopped
demanding documents for animals.
- People are
were nervous and scared. At that moment, customs officers had to act as psychologists to
to calm people down. How did your subordinates communicate with people back then?
what did you say to them and what did they say to you?
Both my subordinates and I
and my subordinates immediately switched to a round-the-clock mode of operation. The number of
of customs officers working at the border was increased. And as I said, we helped people in every way we could,
in any way we could. Including with a kind word. They said that Ukraine would definitely
would win, and they would all come home soon.
And people thanked us
thanked us. And this is the highest appreciation of our work and our efforts at that moment.
- You mentioned in passing
mentioned that there were also unpleasant situations at the checkpoints, what was the most
impressed you the most with a minus sign.
Perhaps,
men who tried to escape abroad in women's clothes.
Those who tried to
to leave the country with fake documents or somehow cross the border outside the
checkpoints are a slightly different matter. There was an exchange of operational information between different
services, and there was a clear workflow.
And those cunning people...
Here is a man in a dress or skirt, wearing a wig. He stands there, and I feel ashamed
for some reason. It's unpleasant to even mention such
characters is unpleasant.
- Our evaders are
"creative", there's no arguing with that. But I will assume that this is not the most impressive thing
that's the most impressive thing about it.
When I was offered
offered to "sell" children, 50 thousand dollars per child.
- How?!
This happened.
One of the, shall we say, humanitarian charitable foundations contacted me. And
this was their business, they took children from the occupied territories. Of
course, without parents, under the guise of adoption, somewhere else. I don't
know how this procedure was settled. But in order for customs and border guards
not to ask unnecessary questions, they offered 50 thousand dollars per child.
There was such a "commercial" proposal. And this was
not an isolated case; there was an extensive program for taking
children abroad . The security forces were aware, I warned them. I don’t know
how the story ended.
– Another
challenge for customs was the issue of humanitarian aid, because at that time
its import into Ukraine was accompanied by a bureaucratic procedure that took
some time. How quickly was this situation resolved?
Already on the
first day, trucks with humanitarian aid were parked under the border on the
Polish side. But they couldn't come in. Due to the fact that assistance is not
subject to taxes and fees, there was a procedure: you need to submit an
application, then the recipient must confirm it here, other documents. All this
takes time. Long bureaucratic procedure.
I then called
the head of the State Customs Service and said: the cars are under the border,
what are we going to do, open them? And he answers me: "Do it according to your
conscience and for the good of the state, we need to survive and win, and after
the victory we will be judged or rewarded for our actions." This was the
principle that guided me when I needed to make an instant decision.
And we opened
the border, and humanitarian aid came. After long meetings and consultations
with us, the government proposed to introduce a simplified humanitarian
declaration, which is filled out at the border, where only the sender and
recipient, the name and weight of the assistance are indicated. And this was
introduced at the state level.
Our
headquarters was not directly involved in humanitarian assistance. The main
function of people in this area was to contact those who provided assistance
and the recipient, and advise on bureaucratic and logistical issues. And so
that this help falls into the right hands, and does not end up somewhere on
store shelves.
We launched a
hotline for people, established contact with the media and constantly reported
on changes taking place at checkpoints.
– Have there
often been such cases when, under the guise of humanitarian aid, they tried to
import commercial products, actually smuggling?
Certainly. But
thanks to operational information, coordinated work of customs officers, and
cooperation with other services, such dealers were exposed.
They tried to
import a lot: exotic fruits, expensive cheeses, sausages, fish. I remember they
wanted to import jamon under the guise of humanitarian aid.
These are
perishable goods that cannot be kept in a confiscated warehouse for long. A way
out of the situation was found almost immediately. There was a database of
contacts for military units, we called and asked: is there a persimmon machine,
will you accept it? And the persimmon truck goes to the soldiers.
They
repeatedly tried to bring in office equipment under the guise of humanitarian
aid and expensive telephones. All this was confiscated.
By the way,
almost in the first days of the war we opened warehouses of confiscated goods
and everything that was possible was given to the army through the confiscation
procedure. They gave away all the cigarettes. We had confiscated watches, so we
also gave them to military units so that we would have something to reward the
soldiers with.
– There was a
lot of information that cars were imported supposedly for the military, and
then these cars appeared for free sale.
The following
facts were also recorded. Operational work was also carried out on them, when a
car was delivered, and then an advertisement about its sale appeared on the
Internet. Such people were identified. These cars
were in the middle price segment - up to 30 thousand dollars.
Expensive cars
were then imported legally, because there was zero customs clearance. To whom
is war, and to whom luxury. They brought in, I remember: McLarens ,
Lamborghinis for 350 thousand dollars. But if a person does not violate
anything and imports a car legally, then from the point of view of the law
there are no claims against him.
– The
situation with the flow of refugees and humanitarian aid has stabilized. But
this didn’t make your headache any less, because every day new situations arose
that required quick decision-making.
And these were
situations not of local, but of national significance. You know that because of
the war, the export of Ukrainian grain through seaports has significantly
decreased. Exporters began to use road transport. At our border, kilometer-long
queues of grain trucks formed, standing for almost two weeks. We held
negotiations with the Polish side and formed green corridors. The grain trucks
left, the lines disappeared.
They did the
same when Ukraine was on the verge of a fuel crisis. An empty fuel tanker was
allowed into Poland without a queue, when it was already full on its way back -
the Poles let it through without a queue.
Yes, for some
time there was a fuel shortage at our gas stations, but thanks to our actions
we managed to avoid a total shortage.
And then, in
conditions of war, it was necessary to resolve elementary issues that had not
been resolved for years in peacetime. Take, for example, the Krakovets release
point. The Poles, for their part, made the normal journey .
And the road on our side was worn out, so
The Ministry of Infrastructure repaired it, together we divided lanes
and control zones for passenger and freight transport, and launched a new
passenger terminal. As a result, throughput increased by more than 50%. And the
number of grain trucks registered for departure in just one month increased by
almost 90%.
– As far as I
know, you and your staff organized and became involved in various social
projects?
I remember
that the European Parliament was supposed to vote on some important issue for
Ukraine. Together with the Aviation of Galicia brand, we made 100 cool
sweatshirts. "рускій ваєнний карабль іді нах*й" (Russian warship, go fuck yourself), and on the back "рускій ваєнний карабль ну шо, ти дашол?" (Russian warship, so what? have you arrived?). The European
deputies were in Lviv before that vote, and we gave them these sweatshirts .
Some of them even voted for them.
We also helped
bring damaged Russian equipment, which was then shown in the cities of Ukraine,
to Lvov. I personally negotiated with Mayor Sadov and Chairman of the OVA
Kozitsky so that it would be placed on Rynok Square .
By the way,
there were some people who had an ambiguous reaction to the damaged Russian
equipment in the square - they said that we had brought war to Lviv. But I
explained that the war is not somewhere far away, it touched each of us, every
Ukrainian city and village. And Lvov is the same, because there are many
displaced people here, and they hit the city with rockets and suicide bombs ,
and people died.
We organized
another very powerful and emotional project with the Lazar Foundation. We took
the most dramatic photos from Bucha, Irpen, Gostomel, Mariupol, and many other
cities that were under occupation or suffered from Russian missile attacks and
shelling, and put these photos into a traveling exhibition. The photos had a QR
code for donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We placed this exhibition at
checkpoints and in places where Western diplomats gather. So that these people
have a constant reminder of the horrors of war that Russia brought to Ukrainian
soil . Subsequently, this exhibition visited Greece, Italy, and Spain.
Separately, I
would like to say that during this difficult time we did not forget about the
children of our fellow customs officers. We quickly reached an agreement with
the customs services of Greece, Bulgaria, and the Baltic countries; they met us
without any problems, and we sent the children of customs officers from the
occupied territories and places where active hostilities were taking place
there for vacation.
Organizing the
transportation of sick and wounded soldiers abroad has become our everyday
business. If a patient is seriously ill or a person is going for an urgent
operation, then convoys of cars with flashing lights and a green corridor to
the checkpoint were organized from Lviv. After all, not a second could be lost
to save a person’s life.
– Fulfilling
your immediate responsibilities in double, and maybe triple, volume,
implementation of various social projects. How did you have enough time,
strength and energy for all this? What caused strong feelings at that moment
and what inspired you to continue working?
The phone did
not stop ringing for almost a second: consultations, instructions, solutions to
issues. Then I slept for two or three hours maximum. Now I don’t even
understand where the internal reserves came from so as not to fall off my feet.
I was worried
about my parents, who met the beginning of the war in Kharkov and at first did
not want to evacuate. At any free minute I called them and convinced them. A
month later, I finally convinced him and took him out. Psychologically it
became a little easier.
What inspired
you? Unconditional faith in our victory. Then I and many Ukrainians had such an
inner desire that we would win faster.
Life worked
out differently. But the belief that Ukraine will definitely defeat Russia in
this war has not disappeared.
