A 57-year-old woman from Ukraine recently made international news headlines for surviving a brutal assault by her drunk neighbors which saw her beaten for hours and then digging her own grave in the local cemetery.

Earlier this month, media outlets from the Ukrainian region of Poltava reported the shocking case of Nina Rudchenko, a woman who managed to survive after being buried alive by her violent neighbors. The woman told police that she was inside her house in the village of Maryanske when two local brothers aged 27 and 30 stormed in and started hitting her with their fists and a baseball bat. The woman claims to have been badly beaten hours before blacking out and waking up at the local cemetery.

Photo: NTN video screengrab

Apparently, the two brothers, identified only as Oleg and Vladimir dragged the unconscious woman to the cemetery in the middle of the night, where they proceeded to wake her up by pouring cold water on her, only to then ask her to dig up her own grave. Rudchenko claims that, as she struggled to handle the shovel, the two brothers kept telling her to give them her house, and threatening her that if she refused they will burn her sister and bury her son-in-law nearby.

It’s unclear if the 57-year-old woman managed to finish digging her grave herself or if the brothers finished the job, but when the pit was ready she was told to lie in it as the two started covering her up with dirt. Nina told reporters that she managed to keep a cool head as the pressure of the soil on top of her grew until the two assailants went away. She claims she heard them asking themselves if she was dead already, and after hearing them walking away, she started frantically digging herself out with her hands.

According to a video report by Ukrainian news station NTN, Nina Rudchenko managed to escape the shallow pit and crawl back to her house, where she passed out. She was found lying on the floor by her sister, who then called police.

Photo: NTN video screengrab

Nina was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors diagnosed her with several fractures, a concussion, and numerous bruises on her face, limbs and torso. Speaking from the hospital where she was recuperating under the care of medical staff and members of her family, the 57-year-old said that her head was still spinning, and that she was still experiencing blackouts because of her head injuries. But worst of all, she was afraid to return home, because the two brothers hadn’t been detained by police…

Ukrainian police opened criminal proceedings against the two assailants under two articles: Part 2 of Art. 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hooliganism) and Art. 46 (deliberate imprisonment). If found guilty, the brothers risk spending up to 5 years in prison. They admitted to attacking the woman, but claimed they only did it as revenge for her stealing their dog, which disappeared about six months ago.

The two brothers’ mother also accused Rudchenko’s family of theft and told reporters that she doesn’t believe her sons tortured the woman.

 

It’s unclear whether the two assailants were eventually detained, but even if they were, a maximum prison sentence of 5 years seems like lenient punishment for their brutal crime…