roadblocks, and demonstrate to the workers that there are relatively safe routes. The employees were surprised to see me but realized that it was possible to drive. After that, the director of the poultry farm, Mykhailo Bespalyi, persuaded the driver to deliver raw materials. Provided that they could drive together,” the owner adds. There was a 10 tonne truck available at the factory at the time and it became the only vehicle used, almost around the clock, for transporting lime- stone, compound feed and finished products. They operated this way for nearly a month: in the morning, they transported feed from Lypova Dolyna and delivered eggs to the city of Sumy in the afternoon. Then they went to other towns and neighbouring regions for raw materials. Work was further complicated not only by roadblocks but also by a curfew. It was introduced throughout Ukraine and in some cities or regions it could last several days. So, it was forbidden to travel by car between 9.00 pm and 5.00 am. And working 24/7 was illegal as well as assumed to be highly dangerous. Thus, what used to be transported by 3-4 trucks had to be squeezed into one truck.
Occupation of the farm Circumventing roadblocks seemed almost child’s play com- pared to what was in store for Ptahoprodukt. Strilets explains:
“Our biggest challenge was the Russian military’s direct at- tack on the farm. More than 100 vehicles with military equip- ment entered the factory grounds, it was a shock for every- one. The Russian forces invaded at the end of the working day. The gate was demolished with a tank and their equip- ment was all over the place. The occupiers camped there for the night. The factory guard was locked in a room and his phone was taken away.” At that time, the farm housed 30,000 day-old chicks as well as producing layers. Russian soldiers occupying the poultry farm vandalised the cage equipment, tampered with feeding and ventilation systems, and slept on bags of compound feed. The chickens were thrown out of the cages and the temperature in the chick houses dropped below critical, substantially increasing mortality. “We had cut chicken carcasses for sale – they ate them. They made fires in the buildings and used them as bonfires to roast the meat. We also held a stock of five cubic metres of diesel fuel to heat the chicken houses. They stole all that fuel. The asphalted ground of the factory terrain was com- pletely destroyed. To restore it would require 5 million UAH (US$ 135,000) so we are currently walking in the mud. They also took all the cash I had withdrawn the day before in Sumy. The documents were burned as they used them to warm themselves. Computers and servers were taken away as well.
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 7, 2022
When tanks rolled through the farm gates, many farms in Sumy suffered.
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