Greek Catholic priest Tykhon Kulbaka is a sixth-generation Donetsk resident. In the summer of 2014, my father almost lost his life. He was captured and executed three times just because he spoke Ukrainian in Donetsk and belonged to the UGCC.
"Almost everyone survived the so-called false shooting. We were taken out and underwent simulated execution. It was very difficult. It was very scary and very difficult. Such an experiment was done on me three times, and I will say honestly that I lost consciousness from fear, from surprise," says the priest.
My father was not beaten or tortured, his insulin was taken away, and he was brought to a diabetic coma. A Greek Catholic priest was rescued by Ukrainian Muslims. It was they who arranged the search and negotiated with the separatists. Thanks to them, Father Tykhon now lives in Lviv. The man is worried because there he left his parishioners who could not leave.
"There are phone calls. Usually it happens when the situation is dire, when there are attacks. Then they call and ask for prayer," he admitted.
Kulbak's father is a native Donetsk resident, but the separatists have branded him a traitor. The man was raised by his parents as an ordinary Soviet boy. I wanted to save human bodies and be a doctor, but I became a savior of souls. My father says that what happened in the Donbas was preplanned.
"The last ten years, starting in 2004 after the Orange Revolution, which has become such an inspiration and hope for us that something will change. In fact, since then, a very terrible experiment on the Donetsk People's Republic has begun. The Party of Regions destroyed everything that concerned Ukraine," the father says.
My father now lives in Lviv, but every day he remembers his small Homeland. After all, there are graves of parents, a brother and frightened Ukrainians.