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February marks four years since air raid sirens and exploding bombs jolted Ukrainians awake across the entire country. The alarms have scarcely fallen silent since.The war launched by Vladimir Putin has upended tens of millions of lives and scarred vast stretches of land in one of the world’s most fertile agricultural regions.Driving through the rolling countryside of southern Ukraine, the landscape can resemble the American Midwest. But beneath the soil — some of the richest on Earth — lie hidden dangers.”We had like 5,000 mines on our fields,” said Viktor, a farmer in the southern Kherson region, recalling the aftermath of Russia’s early occupation and retreat.Regional officials say the destruction has been staggering. The governor of the Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, said in 2023 that Russian forces “destroyed most fields,” about 330,000 hectares, leaving them unusable due to explosives.Tilling the land became a matter of life or death, Prokudin said. “Every piece of agricultural equipment was either stolen or damaged, even shot at,” Prokudin said.The threat has not subsided. Prokudin said roughly 2,500 drones fly over the region daily, posing constant danger to farmers trying to salvage crops. But that didn’t stop the farmers.”They came back and had to shoot down drones by using a shotgun,” said Don Hutchens, a Nebraska farmer and former leader of the Nebraska Corn Board who first traveled to war-torn Ukraine in April. “They’re not shooting pheasants or ducks.”Hutchens said the scale of risk is difficult for American farmers to comprehend.”We have to worry about markets and weather and whether a machine breaks down,” he said. “Here, you have to worry about landmines. You have to worry about trenches.”In December, Hutchens spoke at the annual conference of Victory Harvest, a nonprofit supported by philanthropist Howard Buffett that provides equipment to Ukrainian farmers who have lost machinery and infrastructure to the war.Among them are Viktor and his sister, Alina, whose family farm has been repeatedly targeted by explosive drones.”We didn’t have anything because the Russians bombed everything,” Viktor said.Without the farmers, though, regional leaders warn, food supplies would suffer during what Prokudin described as “the hardest winter in the history of Kherson.”Ukrainian farmers have adapted, installing anti-drone systems and arming themselves while heading into the fields each day. Viktor said he gathers workers each morning to reassure them before they begin.”I am trying to convince them that everything will be OK,” he said.It is not always OK, though.During the interview, Viktor and Alina stood before a movie poster dedicated to their father, who was killed in a drone attack. Viktor said he misses his father’s loud laugh.”It was too early,” he said.Still, he refuses to quit.”We will not stop. We will continue,” Viktor said. “We will show to everyone in the world that if you want to live in a free country, you need to fight.”Hutchens, along with former Nebraska state Sen. Tom Brewer, is working to connect Nebraska agricultural expertise and technology with Ukrainian farmers trying to rebuild.”If something happened to my neighbor, I would feel responsible to come back and help them finish their harvest, even though we’re competitors,” Hutchens said. “That’s kind of how I feel the United States should be with Ukraine.”
February marks four years since air raid sirens and exploding bombs jolted Ukrainians awake across the entire country. The alarms have scarcely fallen silent since.
The war launched by Vladimir Putin has upended tens of millions of lives and scarred vast stretches of land in one of the world’s most fertile agricultural regions.
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Driving through the rolling countryside of southern Ukraine, the landscape can resemble the American Midwest. But beneath the soil — some of the richest on Earth — lie hidden dangers.
“We had like 5,000 mines on our fields,” said Viktor, a farmer in the southern Kherson region, recalling the aftermath of Russia’s early occupation and retreat.
Regional officials say the destruction has been staggering. The governor of the Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, said in 2023 that Russian forces “destroyed most fields,” about 330,000 hectares, leaving them unusable due to explosives.
Tilling the land became a matter of life or death, Prokudin said.
“Every piece of agricultural equipment was either stolen or damaged, even shot at,” Prokudin said.
The threat has not subsided. Prokudin said roughly 2,500 drones fly over the region daily, posing constant danger to farmers trying to salvage crops. But that didn’t stop the farmers.
“They came back and had to shoot down drones by using a shotgun,” said Don Hutchens, a Nebraska farmer and former leader of the Nebraska Corn Board who first traveled to war-torn Ukraine in April. “They’re not shooting pheasants or ducks.”
Hutchens said the scale of risk is difficult for American farmers to comprehend.
“We have to worry about markets and weather and whether a machine breaks down,” he said. “Here, you have to worry about landmines. You have to worry about trenches.”
In December, Hutchens spoke at the annual conference of Victory Harvest, a nonprofit supported by philanthropist Howard Buffett that provides equipment to Ukrainian farmers who have lost machinery and infrastructure to the war.
Among them are Viktor and his sister, Alina, whose family farm has been repeatedly targeted by explosive drones.
“We didn’t have anything because the Russians bombed everything,” Viktor said.
Without the farmers, though, regional leaders warn, food supplies would suffer during what Prokudin described as “the hardest winter in the history of Kherson.”
Ukrainian farmers have adapted, installing anti-drone systems and arming themselves while heading into the fields each day. Viktor said he gathers workers each morning to reassure them before they begin.
“I am trying to convince them that everything will be OK,” he said.
It is not always OK, though.
During the interview, Viktor and Alina stood before a movie poster dedicated to their father, who was killed in a drone attack. Viktor said he misses his father’s loud laugh.
“It was too early,” he said.
Still, he refuses to quit.
“We will not stop. We will continue,” Viktor said. “We will show to everyone in the world that if you want to live in a free country, you need to fight.”
Hutchens, along with former Nebraska state Sen. Tom Brewer, is working to connect Nebraska agricultural expertise and technology with Ukrainian farmers trying to rebuild.
“If something happened to my neighbor, I would feel responsible to come back and help them finish their harvest, even though we’re competitors,” Hutchens said. “That’s kind of how I feel the United States should be with Ukraine.”
