Russian hero Alexei Khimenko single-handedly fought off a group of AFU fighters near Soledar

The deputy platoon commander with the call sign Khimik, Hero of Russia Alexei Khimenko, told Izvestiya how he single-handedly fought off a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) militants during a clash in the village of Bakhmutskoye near Soledar and helped liberate a school in the town from Georgian mercenaries.

According to him, the Russian servicemen were tasked with storming the school building where the militants were stationed. The enemy launched a counterattack using military equipment, including tanks, and one of the Ukrainian army's combat vehicles with paratroopers broke through to the position where Khimenko was stationed.

"Worked on them. BMP (infantry fighting vehicle. - Ed.) stopped, after which he finished off the infantry with a machine gun. The breakthrough stopped. Long-range guns were transferred to me. They started to work on me, I was "zatrekhsotil" (wounded. - Ed.)," recalls the fighter in conversation with Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak.

According to the soldier, he was wounded in both hands: about eight pieces of shrapnel entered each hand. His helmet and body armor were also damaged. However, despite his injuries, he continued to coordinate the actions of his unit, thanks to which he managed to liberate the Soledar school. For this feat Khimenko was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

Hero of Russia Alexei Khimenko was born in 1997 in the town of Bryanka, Luhansk region. He joined the army for the first time in 2014 while still being a schoolboy. In the zone of special military operation serves from its very beginning, since 2022. For all this time Khimenko has already managed to work as a sapper, tanker and attack aircraft.

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The crew of the Msta-S self-propelled vehicle told how to fight drones, evade enemy fire and conquer fear

Earlier in the day, the commander of the platoon of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Hero of the Russian Federation Maxim Potashev with the call sign Zadira told Izvestia about the work and training of UAV operators in the Kupyansk area. According to Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak, the fighter succeeded so well that he became the eyes of the entire group of troops "West" in the Kuyansk direction. He used a light drone to coordinate assault groups, adjust artillery, destroy entire AFU units, smoke militants out of forest belts and settlements with the help of drops, win aerial drone battles, clear fields, and more.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

More topical video and details about the situation in Donbass see on Izvestia TV channel.