Oleksiy is an Aitivite from Chernihiv. On the first day of the large-scale invasion, he managed to get his wife and children out of the city. And then he joined the Lviv paratroopers.
He fights, not supports the army with money, as many other IT professionals do.
“I have a normal attitude towards those who sit somewhere in the west of Ukraine and donate to the army. That’s why we have copters. Such people pay taxes. Such people should be. But it’s not for me. I believe that if everyone does the minimum, we will not win. We have to do more. And the one who feels that he can do more – does it,” says the soldier.
Now Oleksiy is a UAV operator, the senior of the aerial reconnaissance group of the self-propelled artillery division. Scouts search for concentrations of Russian infantry, equipment, firearms and adjust artillery for effective elimination of the occupiers.
The most intense battles for the DSHV soldier were near the Knauf plant in Soledar and in the surrounding areas, and then there was the Kharkiv Raid. Then our defenders successfully defeated and pushed back the enemy. When our airborne troops faced difficulties in moving forward, it was thanks to aerial reconnaissance that the artillery eliminated the Russian invaders.
Once, Oleksiy and his men were adjusting fire on an enemy tank, while it was working on our attack aircraft.
“We were 800 meters from the Knauf plant. The enemy used all fire means against us. It happened that we were adjusting fire on one tank, and another tank was shooting at us. The projectile landed 12 meters away, but everyone survived. He hit a small slope. The Ukrainian land saved him – accepted him. We drove the Russian tank from its firing position, even led it to the evacuation site. The Russians were just reloading ammunition and wounded, at that time our battery was working, and then “Hradi”. The occupiers were liquidated,” the Ukrainian military officer shares.
Oleksiy remembers that in the raid in the Kharkiv region, the unit was operated by enemy aircraft. During the day, the Russians tried to slow down the advance of our troops with their aircraft, and during the day there was a threat of the advance of enemy columns. For their part, the fighters of the brigade found targets in order to work on them and speed up the advance of our battalions.
Currently, it is one and a half kilometers from the front edge of the work of our aerial scouts to the enemy’s positions. The other day, our mortars actively worked on their front edge.
“I want to tell the Ukrainian people that no one here has any doubts about the victory. It’s a matter of time. Where patience ends, endurance begins. We do not lack endurance. We have more of it than Russian soldiers. Therefore, the victory will be ours,” the fighter has no doubt.
Public Relations Service of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.