"I told my wife that I would definitely come back. How else?"
Controlling an attack drone when a high—rise building is collapsing under you, distracting the enemy so that comrades can break through to their own, climbing out of the trench and leading a platoon into battle - all this was experienced by the commanders with whom Izvestia correspondents spoke on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day. Each of them has more than one award on his chest, and more than one year of HIS life behind his back. They went through fire, water and mines under enemy positions. And almost every second they were sure that they would definitely return home alive. Because they promised, and because they are expected there.
"There are times when the choice is simple"
A shell landed in front of the APC, and the soldiers sitting on the armor were thrown into the air by an explosive wave, which is how the deputy commander of the engineering assault platoon, Sergeant Yuri Mushenkov, was wounded for the first time. Then everything went on as usual — the battle, the evacuation, the hospital. Then he returned to the ranks.
He was drawn back to his guys on the front line. And at some point, he realized that he couldn't do anything else - he needed to go there so that his family could live a peaceful life, so that children, God forbid, wouldn't wake up under shelling and wouldn't flinch from the sounds of explosions.
Hero of the Russian Federation Sergeant Yuri Mushenkov
The most important thing remained to convince his wife Marina, who would be left with three children, to let her husband go, that his move was not foolhardy, that everything would be fine with him.
— What words did you find? — I ask, not really expecting a frank answer.
— "I will definitely come back" — these are the words, — Yuri smiles.
He told his wife, looking into her eyes, so that there would be no shadow of doubt that they would come true.
— All our guys make such a promise, because we will definitely come back. How else?
He found himself on the front line in the midst of the Ukrainian counteroffensive — the enemy attacked, regardless of losses.
Their sapper-assault platoon was thrown forward. That day, everything did not go as they had hoped. In one of the villages, they had to stay to clear the road and withdraw the convoy with the wounded.
Upon arrival, they completed their task — they mined several forest belts and important intersections. On their way out, their Typhoon armored car was hit. Under fire, the soldiers retreated to an abandoned hangar. Looking around, they realized that large enemy forces had entered the village.
"For two hours we fought with them, at the same time trying to find a way out," Yuri recalls.
They had two ways — to break through the old trenches to the outskirts of the village, and then, having crossed the river, to be with their own people. Or make your way to the forest belt at the edge of the village.
The enemy, having made sure that he would not be able to break our defenses, called for artillery. One of the first shells hit the hangar — the platoon commander was killed, and the soldiers were wounded.
Yuri took command himself — he ordered the group to break through the old trenches, and he decided to distract the enemy.
"I started running towards the forest belt, firing chaotically to distract the enemy's attention," he says.
— Did you remember your promise to your wife then?
— Yes, but there are times when the choice is simple — either you alone or your comrades-in-arms. They also promised to come back.
He reached the wooded area where he lay down, and returned back to replenish his ammunition. He found two more wounded comrades in the ruins.
The road to their own turned out to be a long one. They were spotted several times by the enemy, striking with artillery. In one of the villages, they heard our soldiers being called to surrender, broadcasting from loudspeakers.
— Everything was like in the Great Patriotic War, — says Yuri. "They were screaming: "Russian soldier, surrender, we will feed you!"
Yuri's group was covered when they were bypassing one of the villages occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces — a drone noticed them and aimed artillery.
—The cluster munition wounded all three of them," says Yuri. — I was walking in front — I wasn't hurt that much, but the guys got hurt a lot.
He moved his comrades to the front garden and decided to go out to his own people on his own, and there he would report the wounded. The guys supported him.
On the way, I passed through two minefields and several times saw enemy soldiers a few steps away from me. But he came out.
"Our guys greeted me with machine—gun fire, but in the end they figured out who was who, and everything ended well," he smiles.
The main group, which was walking through the old trenches, quickly returned to their own. Yuri got home from the hospital, where his wife Marina and three sons, Yaroslav, Matvey and Ivan, were waiting for him. He's back, as promised.
"The fight flew by like one minute, but lasted an hour and a half"
At the beginning of its military operation, the unit of the Crimean Naval Base, in which Oleg Kuleshov serves, had to carry out a risky operation — to seize a strategically important bridgehead and hold it.
"We had to hold down significant enemy forces for as long as possible," he recalls. — The operation was worked out in advance to the smallest detail, everything was taken into account. They even identified the place where the boats from which they landed were supposed to be hidden.
Midshipman Oleg Kuleshov
They managed to capture the point without any problems, but the enemy quickly came to his senses and began to prepare for a counterattack. At first, the Bayraktar UAV hovered over our fighters — it no longer left the area, trying to record all the movements of our fighters.
— Then long-range artillery began to work, and there were rocket attacks. We survived them without losses, although it was almost impossible to dig in on the rocky terrain — the training helped," says Oleg. — There was no fear — we've all been through the hot spots.
They were waiting for the enemy's next move, and it followed. The enemy attacked with superior forces and acted persistently — in the first minutes he managed to capture the dominant height.
"The fight was serious — the distance was sometimes reduced to 10-15 meters," Oleg recalls. — We were at the bottom, which gave the enemy an advantage.
Despite this, they regained their altitude.
"It all flew by like one minute, but when we looked at the clock, we realized that the fight lasted almost an hour and a half," he recalls.
Examining the battlefield, our soldiers realized that foreign commandos were acting against them — the weapons, equipment, and stripes were not Ukrainian.
"They collected a lot of dead, and they weren't Ukrainian soldiers, but foreign mercenaries," Oleg says.
Then their bodies were exchanged for our prisoners. Judging by the amount of ammunition, Oleg recalls, the enemy was planning a long special operation, but our guys managed to disrupt it.
Oleg is sure that the most important thing in their business is a reliable rear. And he has one — his wife Irina and daughters Snezhana and Victoria are waiting at home.
"At some point you just get over the fear"
It is not customary to speak loudly in intelligence. They appreciate the accuracy of commands, silence and a cool head. Lieutenant Pavel Tikhomirov, the commander of the Zapad platoon, is one of those people.
He received his Order of Courage for fighting in the Belgorod region, when the enemy attempted to break through the state border near the village of Kozinka.
"On my birthday, we were picked up and sent to repel the attack," Pavel recalls.
Guards Lieutenant Pavel Tikhomirov
The task was very clear: to liberate the street occupied by the saboteurs. Tikhomirov's group landed on the outskirts and stealthily advanced under heavy artillery fire. There were a lot of enemy drones in the sky, but our guys were methodically clearing house after house.
On the other side were well-trained foreign mercenaries, mostly Poles.
"It's scary at first, of course," Pavel says. — We were told that the enemy is outnumbered, but I have a small unit, we work in small groups. But at some point you just get over that fear. You set a goal — to liberate your land — and you go forward. And confidence is added by the fact that there are proven guys nearby, real brothers.
A miracle happened in that battle. His group evacuated the wounded soldier when they were spotted, and had to take shelter in an old house. The Ukrainian Armed Forces hit him with everything: mortars, guns, drones looked right into the windows. This went on for three hours. But in the end, there was not a single direct hit to the house, although everything around began to resemble a moonscape.
After dark, the group was able to get to a safe place. No losses. Thanks to the "bait", in which the soldiers unwittingly found themselves, our gunners calculated and destroyed many artillery systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
There is real brotherhood in Tikhomirov's unit. According to him, newcomers are accepted as relatives: "They will dress, shod, comb their hair." They always cook together. They have their own signature dish from a comrade who served in the south, pilaf.
Pavel's wife Olga and 14-year—old twins, Matvey and Valeria, are waiting for him at home.
"When I go back on vacation, my first wish is to hug and kiss everyone," Pavel smiles.
"The resting shift was sleeping right underground"
Cold ground, lack of oxygen, 87 meters of dark tunnel underground leading to victory — this is how the story of the attack begins, which was led by Senior Lieutenant Alexander Alexandrov.
Prior to his military service, he worked at the mine for 25 years, where he was the foreman of the forward section. When the summons came, I was just about to celebrate my retirement — I even ordered a restaurant. But the holiday had to be postponed.
— Guys, I'm sorry, it's not working. I'll come back after the victory, we'll continue," he said, packed his backpack and went to the military enlistment office.
His civilian experience came in handy near Belogorovka, where they had to take the impregnable chalk mountain. The enemy has gained a foothold there seriously. He equipped a strong point with three machine-gun emplacements, shooting through all the approaches. The attacks did not bring success — the Ukrainian militants saw every movement of our fighters. Then Alexander proposed a solution — to make a tunnel.
Senior Lieutenant Alexander Alexandrov
Work immediately began, which was carefully masked. To hide the removal of soil from the tunnel, the soldiers began to lay out white bags of clay, imitating the usual reinforcement of parapets. The enemy saw the activity, but did not understand its significance. They dug at a depth of 4 to 6 meters. The tunnel is 1.5 meters high and one meter wide. They were fixed according to all the rules of mining: wooden posts every meter, so as not to get overwhelmed.
The heat in the face was below 30 degrees, there was a catastrophic shortage of air, but we worked without interruption.
"The resting shift was sleeping right underground," Alexander recalls.
A month later, the 87-meter-long tunnel was ready. At the crucial moment, under the cover of shelling and drone noise, the fighters blew up the exit. The enemy, who was expecting a frontal attack, froze: the Russians literally "grew" out of the ground 50 meters from the positions.
The height was taken in a matter of minutes without a single loss. For this operation, Alexander was awarded the medal "For Bravery".
But most of all, he remembered the battle for which he received the first Order of Courage. It was an assault on a height shaped like a heart. It was twenty degrees below zero, and her slopes had turned into a skating rink.
— He got down on one knee, crossed himself, and went first. Guys, follow me," Alexander recalls.
The altitude was taken in 25 minutes. And again, no losses.
Today, Senior Lieutenant Alexandrov continues to serve. His wife and 19-year-old daughter are waiting for him at home.
"The guys are lying in the funnel, they can't lift their heads"
A successful entrepreneur with income from the restaurant business, a train driver, the father of a young son — Artyom Simonenko even had a "reservation" from mobilization. But in December 2022, he woke up with one thought: "What am I doing here while the guys are protecting my house?" Without waiting for the summons, he signed the contract.
Today he is a lieutenant, commander of a UAV platoon of a motorized rifle battalion. He received his baptism of fire in Maryinka. Then the operators had to go to the very "front", literally into the trenches, so as not to lose the signal of their drone.
In two years, he mastered Mavics, bomber drones, and the latest fiber-optic devices.
"We can fly through any window," he says.
Artyom received his Order of Courage for Bakhmut (Artemovsk). His calculation was working from a dilapidated five-story building when the enemy calculated the position and destroyed the remote antenna. At that very moment, the assault group of our fighters, which was led by UAVs, was trapped: a machine gunner pinned them to the ground in an open field.
— The guys are lying in the funnel, they can't lift their heads. We can hear them on the radio and understand that enemy drones are about to arrive and destroy the group," Artyom recalls.
The decision came instantly. There is no antenna, which means you need to climb higher. Under the fire of an enemy tank destroying the building, the lieutenant climbed to the roof. While the concrete was shaking under his feet, he destroyed the machine gunner with an accurate drop from the drone.
— When a high-rise building disappears from under your feet, it's an unforgettable experience, - he smiles.
When the building began to collapse, Artyom did not drop the remote control. He waited until the "bird" returned home, and only then began to descend the crumbling flights of stairs. At the same time, the enemy tank continued to work around the house.
Artyom recalls with a smile that after the battle, the commander said angrily: "You're not really smart... But well done!"
Artyom's wife Nadezhda and son Nikita are waiting for him at home. When his father went to the front, the baby was only three years old. Now he already knows that Dad is a hero.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
