"We didn't come to fight for someone else, we came to fight for our country."

The battles in Kurakhovo were fought for every house, every floor. Our fighters broke into five-storey buildings and went forward, looking the enemy in the eye. Explosions, shots, bitterness from the loss of comrades and immediately the joy of victory, after taking an important object and surrendering the enemy in captivity - that's what the storming of the city is. And also - the gratitude of civilians, who waited out the fierce fighting in cellars. Emotions that experienced our fighters for several days, enough for more than one book or movie.

Bracelet of beads

Now some of the assault fighters of the 110th Brigade of the 51st Donetsk Army are on vacation. They can not be confused with other servicemen. By their appearance, you can immediately understand where they are from. Weathered, dark faces, in which the powder smoke and dust of broken houses have penetrated, attentive, noticing everything, immediately catch your eye. They have something to say about Kurakhovo.

Kurakhovo is a relatively small town, where high-rise buildings are surrounded by one-story houses. Having taken over the private sector, our units ran into high-rise buildings, where the AFU had equipped strongholds. Another point where the enemy was going to hold on to the last was the territory of the factory. It was especially difficult to take these residential neighborhoods and industrial zone.

The fighting was fierce. Ours went forward in small assault groups - three or five. A motorized rifleman of the 110th Brigade of the 51st Donetsk Army with the call sign Nifer tells us about it. He commanded one of these groups.

On the arm of the tough fighter, who has seen both fire and water, one can see a thin - in one thread - white-blue-red bracelet made of beads. I don't understand how it could have ended up on the stormtrooper's wrist.

I ask, "Where did it come from?

Nifer thinks for a while, and then says that it is necessary to tell the whole story from the beginning.

- From the beginning of the fighting for Kurakhovo?

- Yes. We entered the city through the settlement, straight into the five-storied buildings, in house No. 5. We fortified ourselves there. After the allies came up (the reinforcement unit, which follows the storm troopers - ed.), they stayed at our position, we moved to house No. 8. There were civilians there who met us. One of them was wounded by a UAV munition. We treated him. I know he's okay now.

- Did the assault continue?

- Yeah, from there we went to the first house. And that's where I lost half my group-- Sheik, Skiff. We started getting hit hard by kamikaze drones. We pulled back, resupplied and slid back into that five-story building - took it.

The fighter's not talking. You can see he's picking up the words.

- So what happened?

- There we met a little girl who made bracelets for each of us in the colors of the Russian flag. Here it is, I have it now.

Neifer stretches out his hand looks at the wrist with the bracelet, smiles - and these emotions can not be conveyed.

- What's next?

- We were able to take control of the "Five" (very important from a tactical point of view five-story factory building - ed.). And take 14 people prisoner.

He talks about this important victory without much excitement. Almost like a job, albeit difficult, but already done and forgotten.

Contact battles

- Did the enemy bite hard?

- There were both contact and close fights.

This is the hardest. Contact fighting is when you see an enemy soldier and engage him with small arms fire. Close combat, on the other hand, can end in hand-to-hand combat.

- When we went into the third five-story building, the enemy was pouring small arms fire from the windows. There were direct fights, which brought me losses. We had to team up with Sonic's group to make up for them. And so together we jumped into this five-story building under my command. We fought them. In the end, the enemy was bitten, but surrendered. We captured a Ukrainian commander. After that fighters from the "Borz" unit (the assault unit of our 110th brigade) came up to us, they held the first floor. And then another Ukrainian commander came with a "white flag".

- What was done with him?

- We talked to him and let him go to the Ukrainians who remained on the upper floor. He talked to his own, and we took them all prisoner. The house came under our control. But for two days, the Ukrainian fighters fighting nearby were being bullied by their command - they didn't want to recognize the loss of the building. They kept up morale. They said that we were only on the first floor. And when they once again reported on the radio: "Jeep, jeep, I am a mountain, I have everything plus", saying that everything was normal in the house, we hung the Russian flag over it!

- You participated in the storming of an important object - the factory administration and also raised the flag over it. How did it happen?

- The flag was thrown to us from a quadrocopter. Me and three other commanders climbed up on the roof and attached it to a chimney. And that's it, it's still there.

- How did you feel at that moment?

- Patriotism! For Russia! We didn't come here to fight for someone, we came here for our country. For the sake of our children, mothers, so that no one can reach them.

- It feels good.

- Of course, you feel like some kind of hero for your daughter, for your mother, for your father.

"I have a friend here."

- Where are you from?

- I'm from the Volgograd region, the village of Rakhin. I know a lot of guys here. I came here purposefully, knowing that I would get into the 110th brigade. I have a friend here. And in Kursk I was with a neighbor, it just so happened that he also got to this direction.

- Did you have any combat experience before the military special operation?

- I've been here for two months, I'm on my third. Acclimatization went smoothly, we were all in the mood. I came here green, and now I became combat. I came here and immediately became a group commander, I was appointed. We had no young guys 18-20 years old. We went to the assaults with an older group. I'm 37, and the others are older than me. We've seen a lot. I worked as a metal cutter in civilian life.