Border guard Ivan, originally from Lviv region, has come a long way from vocational training and working abroad to serving in the 7th Carpathian Border Detachment and taking part in combat operations in Donetsk region.
After finishing school in 2015, he enrolled at the Chervonohrad Vocational Mining and Construction Lyceum, where he qualified as a car mechanic and gas welder. He later spent some time working in construction in Italy, but returned to Ukraine to complete his compulsory military service in the National Guard of Ukraine. After finishing his service, he again went abroad, yet thoughts of a military career never left him.
In August 2020, Ivan returned to Ukraine for good and joined the 7th Carpathian Border Detachment. He explains that it was during his compulsory service that he realised the military profession was close to his heart. He remembers the morning of 24 February 2022 very clearly: he was resting at home before his shift when he received a call from his unit ordering him to report for duty immediately.
In February 2025, the serviceman was deployed to Donetsk region, where he carried out combat missions in the area of the Serebrianka forestry. He spent 93 days at the positions. The heaviest fighting, he says, began in May, when Russian forces tried to break through the Ukrainian defences. The unit was constantly under artillery fire, and enemy drones operated over their positions around the clock, hunting the soldiers and their shelters.
Ivan recalls that during one of the shellings, a round destroyed the firing position where the defenders were stationed, yet none of them was wounded. He remembers that after the strike, the small icon they prayed by remained intact, and he took this as a miracle. In another episode, an enemy drone targeted him: the soldier only had time to see a flash, fell to the ground, and his comrades dragged him to a safer place. He was shielded from the shrapnel by sandbags lying nearby.
Despite constant shelling, the threat from the air and physical exhaustion, Ivan and his comrades continued to hold their positions. No less difficult for him was the long wait to get in touch with his loved ones. He was particularly worried about his wife and parents and admits he was determined not to let them down, as he had promised before leaving that he would come back alive.
At the end of May 2025, Ivan returned to duty at the Nismychi Border Guard Service Department. For the resilience and bravery he showed during the fighting in 2025, he was awarded the breast badge “For Courage in Protecting the State Border of Ukraine” and the distinction “Excellent Border Guard”. The serviceman says that the most important award for him is the opportunity to continue serving and being of use to his country.
“I believe and hope that we will defeat the enemy as soon as possible — we have no other choice. We Ukrainians are one big family, where everyone is ready to support one another. A people like this cannot be broken”
Ivan is convinced that the strength of the Ukrainian army lies in the mutual support of its soldiers, and the strength of the people in their unity and willingness to help one another.