The direct speech of a Ukrainian soldier from the battlefield (part 2)

It was one of those many positions from which almost no one returned unharmed. There were dense bushes about 30 meters between us and the enemy.

This is a direct speech from the city of Soledar, which was one of the hottest area before the counteroffensive began. The testimony is recorded by Anton Filatov, a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and in his previous life he was a journalist, expert on cinema, editor-in-chief, and a great guy. A long time ago we worked together and went to the Odessa Film Festival… Those were wonderful days that cannot be returned.

We were under fire from tanks, mortars, and a lot of small arms. We took shifts of three hours. By the time you reached the dugout and had a meal, there were only two hours left for sleep. It often rained, and the wet soil fell on our weapons and ammunition. We had to clean them constantly.

Periodically, the firefights were so intense that they resembled dumb Vietnam. Shells and bullets cut down trees.

During one of the incoming, “Doc” was on duty at the nearby observation post. The shell fell next to him. When I crawled up to him and lifted his helmet, I saw a mass of blood and bones underneath. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to pull his body away.

Shortly after that, the explosions were already just a few meters away from me. As a result of one of them, a piece of debris knocked off my left earpiece. I got a concussion and sustained damage to my left ear and eye.

The fifth day at this position was the hardest. I was abruptly woken up and told that the russians had launched a massive attack. We quickly rushed to the observation post and engaged in battle. There were about 25–30 russians, and only nine of us. Artillery preparation came first, and as a result, two of us were wounded.

One fragment broke my comrade’s shoulder, and another got stuck in his helmet, causing him to vomit. Another soldier had blood coming from his nose, ears, and eyes. But he was lucky — he had no penetrating injuries.

I was the last one remaining who could still hold a weapon in my hands. However, I was completely disoriented and stunned. I continued to shoot in the general direction, lifting the rifle above the parapet and keeping my head low to the ground. I’m certain I only hit the enemy twice.

The whole battle lasted less than an hour. During that time, I was completely soaked, even though it was close to zero degrees outside. We decided to retreat. I provided covering fire for my comrades, who were trying to run back with their last strength. We had to leave simply through the open area, and mines were falling around us. When we reached a safe place, we injected a painkiller to the seriously wounded.

Later, a truck arrived and picked us up. As soon as I jumped into the cargo compartment, I immediately blacked out.

On the same day, reinforcements of 20 soldiers arrived at our position. They held that point, but at a high cost — 13 wounded and 7 killed.

End of direct speech. First part you can read here.

I want to add something. People on the front lines are in terrible conditions. You can’t even imagine what is happening there. This is because russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum, which it signed in 1994. Instead of guaranteeing security to Ukraine, russia has invaded our lands and is killing women and children. This is a murderous country.

But its not to late to stop it.

Since I am a writer, I have a dream to publish my books abroad (USA or Europe). If you want to support me — you can do it on Donatello (Ukrainian platform that helps creators). https://donatello.to/Yarvolod

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