---
title: "\"They simply shot them\": the military prototype of the hero of the novel 'Ilovaisk' told how he saved a girl from a shot-up car in 2014"
description: "Ukrainian military man Ivan Pohorelyi, the prototype of the hero of the novel \"Ilovaisk\", at the book presentation in Kyiv told how in 2014 he saved a girl from a car shot by Russians that bore the inscription \"Children\", and how Russian propaganda rewrote this story."
date: 2026-09-04T09:38:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/pohorelyi-tells-how-he-saved-girl-from-shot-car-2014
tags: [ukraine, ilovaisk, novel, war-2014, propaganda, military, book-presentation]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# "They simply shot them": the military prototype of the hero of the novel 'Ilovaisk' told how he saved a girl from a shot-up car in 2014

![Soldier who inspired the hero of the novel Ilovaisk at an interview, telling about saving a girl from a shot-up car in 2014](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/04/pogorelyy-rasskazal-o-spasenii-devochki-iz-rasstrelannogo-avto-2014/pogorelyy-rasskazal-o-spasenii-devochki-iz-rasstrelannogo-avto-2014-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Ivan Pohorelyi, the prototype of the hero of the novella "Uncle Ivan" in the novel "Ilovaisk", at the presentation on August 29 in Kyiv told about saving a girl from a car shot in 2014 that was carrying civilians
- The family's car bore the inscription "Children", yet Russian troops shot the vehicle; the only survivor from the entire family was the girl
- Russian propaganda distorted the events, claiming that the family was killed by "Bandera followers" and that the child was saved by a "separatist"; writer Polozhyi learned the truth from a comment by Pohorelyi himself
- The updated edition of the novel was published by "Fronesis" with the support of the co-founders of "General Cherynya"; the book became the first in the series "General Cherry Library. Chronicles of the War for Independence"

On August 29, a presentation of the updated edition of Yevhen Polozhyi's novel "Ilovaisk. Stories of Real People" took place at the "SENS" bookstore in Kyiv. The book was published by "Fronesis" with the support of Yaroslav and Stanislav Hryshyns — co-founders of the defense company "General Cherynya". The novel became the first book in the new series "General Cherry Library. Chronicles of the War for Independence". At the event, timed to the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine, one of the key speakers was Ukrainian military man Ivan Pohorelyi — the person whose real story formed the basis of the novella "Uncle Ivan".

### The shooting of a car marked "Children"

Pohorelyi recounted that in 2014 Russian regular units were advancing on settlements where civilians were located. The family whose fate later made it into the novel was trying to leave the territory that Russian troops were advancing on. Their car bore clear markings indicating the civilian status of the passengers — in particular, the inscription "Children". According to Pohorelyi, this did not stop the Russian military: "Simply understanding that these were civilian people leaving the territory that the enemy was seizing, they simply shot them." The only survivor from the family was a girl, whom Pohorelyi himself saved.

### How propaganda rewrote reality

After the events of 2014, Russian propaganda quickly appropriated this tragedy, completely distorting its essence. In Russian reports, it was claimed that the family was killed by "Bandera followers" and that the child was saved by a "young separatist". Pohorelyi emphasized that the child was used to create a myth that was supposed to justify Russian aggression and the involvement of the local population of the Donbas and Luhansk regions in the war: "This is the classic method that the enemy used and continues to use to this day." It was from such a propaganda story that writer Yevhen Polozhyi first learned about the incident. He saw a comment by Pohorelyi in which the military man reported that he had been at the scene and that everything had happened differently. This began their correspondence, which eventually turned into the novella "Uncle Ivan".

### After captivity: Donetsk, Khartsyzk and the search for relatives

Pohorelyi also told about what happened to the girl after being saved. After falling into captivity, the child was given medical aid in Donetsk, and local residents helped search for her relatives. Among the belongings of the shot family, documents were preserved by which the girl's grandmother was eventually found in Khartsyzk. Pohorelyi himself, after captivity, underwent several operations and a long rehabilitation. For almost a year he was engaged in establishing the fate of his comrades-in-arms: his battalion lost 12 military personnel who were initially listed as missing. According to the military man, in the end it was possible to identify all of them.

### The methods of 2014 that have not changed

Summing up his speech, Pohorelyi noted that the events of 2014 demonstrated a set of methods that Russia continues to apply today: strikes on civilians, systematic denial of its own crimes, and the use of others' tragedies as a propaganda tool. "Already in 2014 Russian troops were systematically shelling settlements and the civilian population, and the crimes committed were used to create propaganda myths," he emphasized. The presentation of the novel thus became not only a book event but also an act of documenting the truth that the Russian information machine has been trying to rewrite for decades.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Saved a child from a shot-up car: Pohorelyi told the real story from the novel "Ilovaisk"](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/vryatuvav-ditinu-rozstrilyanogo-avto-pogoriliy-1788514513.html) - Первичный источник: прямые цитаты Погорелого на презентации 29.08.2026 в магазине «СЕНС». Подтверждены детали расстрела, надпись «Дети», спасение девочки, искажение в пропаганде, лечение в Донецке, поиск бабушки в Харцызске, 12 пропавших без вести из батальона.
- [Saving a girl from a shot-up car: the truth about the 2014 incident](https://novosti.ua/society/pogorelyy-rasskazal-o-spasenii-devochki-iz-rasstrelennogo-avto-v-2014-godu) - Вторичный источник, подтверждающий ключевые факты: дату презентации, издательство «Фронезис», поддержку Гришиных, название серии книг, роль Погорелого как прототипа. Сходимость с РБК-Украина полная.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Who is Ivan Pohorelyi and what does he have to do with the novel "Ilovaisk"?
**A:** Ivan Pohorelyi is a Ukrainian military man who in 2014 saved a girl from a car shot by Russian troops. His real story became the basis of the novella "Uncle Ivan" in Yevhen Polozhyi's novel "Ilovaisk. Stories of Real People". The writer learned about the incident from a propaganda report and then contacted Pohorelyi after his comment that refuted it.

### Q: What happened to the family in 2014?
**A:** The family was trying to leave the territory that Russian regular units were advancing on. Their car bore the inscription "Children" and other markings of civilian status. Russian troops shot the vehicle. The only survivor from the entire family was the girl, whom Pohorelyi saved.

### Q: How did Russian propaganda distort this story?
**A:** In Russian reports it was claimed that the family was killed by "Bandera followers" and that the child was saved by a "young separatist". Pohorelyi called this a classic method by which Russia justifies its aggression and involves the local population in the war, and noted that this method is still being used to this day.

### Q: When and where was the presentation of the updated edition of the novel held?
**A:** The presentation took place on August 29, 2026 at the "SENS" bookstore in Kyiv, on the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine. The updated edition was published by "Fronesis" with the support of Yaroslav and Stanislav Hryshyns. The book became the first in the series "General Cherry Library. Chronicles of the War for Independence".

### Q: What happened to the girl after being saved?
**A:** After falling into captivity, the girl was given medical aid in Donetsk. Local residents helped search for her relatives. Based on documents found among the family's belongings, the girl's grandmother was eventually found in Khartsyzk.