"A man should be a man"
The summons arrived to the Bosun on September 22, 2022, and without hesitation he packed up and left for the military registration and enlistment office.
By that time, he had already served under a contract in the border service, retiring with the rank of senior midshipman, and worked for some time as a bodyguard, where he also had to deal with weapons at the training ground.
But the most important thing is that he had the right upbringing.
“First of all, a man must be a man,” Bosun explains his position.
“My father is a military man, he defended the borders of the state, and he raised me in the same way.
Mother is a doctor.
Both parents have professions that involve helping people.
I myself served in the army, I already had some training.
And I am sure that we are here for a reason, we are performing important tasks.
“Everyone understands that the enemy here oppressed the people, killed, sparing neither adults nor children.”
The boatswain underwent training at the training center and already on October 11, as part of the assault company of the 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade, arrived in the Northern Military District zone.
At first he was made a sergeant major, but the commander quickly saw the potential in the mobilized man and made him a platoon commander.
On the territory of Donbass, preparations continued.
And on October 29, the unit was sent to carry out its first combat mission.
First task
“We set out early in the morning as part of a column towards Pavlovka and Ugledar.
Our task was to take the forest belt, clear it, gain a foothold in positions and wait for further commands.
There were wounded, there were “two hundredths,” but, be that as it may, we completed the task.
We were regularly fired at from mortars and tanks, but we did not leave our positions.
It was actually scary.
But over time, you can still somehow... - The boatswain is looking for the right word - well, not get used to it, but rather, treat it more calmly.
Moreover, as a platoon commander, I constantly communicated with my personnel.
Everyone saw my confidence, my calmness, and this was passed on to them.”
The boatswain's platoon held its occupied positions for 18 days.
Periodically, warnings came over radio communications that, according to intelligence data, the enemy's DRG was preparing to move towards Russian attack aircraft.
“We stood in a perimeter defense.
A patrol was posted closer to the place from which the attack was expected.
But, thank God, no clashes happened,” the fighter recalls.
RT
On the day of rotation, when the Bosun's unit was supposed to be replaced by fresh forces, a mortar attack began: the enemy was working with a "Polka" (a silent 60-mm mortar).
“First a guy from another unit was wounded, he was quickly helped.
Then the enemy began to work on the position where I was.
Two of my fighters were hit (wounded -
RT
).
Half an hour later I decided to check the situation - and “Polka” flew next to me.
A shrapnel hit me in the leg.
On some instinct, in a matter of seconds I made the decision to jump forward into the trench: it was about three meters away from me.
I jump and immediately fly to the very place where I was just standing,” says RT’s interlocutor.
Together with other wounded, Bosun was successfully evacuated and sent for treatment to Vladivostok.
The assault platoon commander spent a lot of time in the hospital - a shrapnel broke a bone and severed a nerve.
After treatment there is a slow recovery period.
And only on August 1, 2023, he left the unit in order to arrive again in the North Military District zone on the 4th.
In Yarogo's Group
Immediately upon his return, the Bosun was called and offered to become a cover group shooter in a unit under the command of Hero of Russia Yaroslav Yakubov (Yary).
“I assume that Yary himself heard about me somewhere.
In the unit, conversations go on one way or another, and sometimes what people say about you is the best assessment of your service.
Yaroy had a need for fighters.
My candidacy was considered and invited.
I didn’t refuse,” says RT’s interlocutor.
The boatswain, despite the fact that he now serves in a heavy sniper unit, continues to carry his already familiar machine gun.
His main responsibility is the safety of the subgroup during the execution of the task.
To do this, he needs to be extremely careful: “look at the sky,” the side sectors and the situation around him, so that in case of danger he can quickly make a decision and react.
“When the subgroup moves, the enemy is also trying to detect us somewhere.
Somewhere there are mines arriving, somewhere “birds” are flying.
I listen to all this carefully.
You have to work in different conditions: sometimes positions are prepared, sometimes not.
As soon as we enter, we begin the actual execution of the task.
At this time, I also work as a spotter, observing the enemy with the help of special optical instruments.
I determine the distance, find targets, transmit information to the sniper, we are in constant contact with him,” explains the shooter.
RT
According to him, one can wait a long time for a target; only the approximate time is known when the enemy should “stick his head out.”
Most often this happens during rotation.
“If a threat appears during a mission, the subgroup is removed to come back again after some time,” the fighter shares.
— It is in this direction that they have a lot of “birds.”
In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces often use cluster munitions, which are also quite dangerous.
Well, mortars and artillery are working.
They have a tank - not often, but sometimes it works out.”
The last task, as they say here, was in one of the sections of the South Donetsk direction.
The subgroup was just working on enemy positions in the forest belt during rotation.
But after some time they began to work on the Russian division.
“They started shooting from mortars in our area where we were.
And then we began to slowly retreat from there, having, however, managed to eliminate two people from the enemy side.
To be honest, having been in an assault, I feel safer here in Yaroy’s Group,” Bosun smiles.
“We work quite secretly, although we also have our own nuances.”