Assisting to Azov Regiment and my thoughts about what we would expect in the close future
Introduction
Hello, folks. My name is Victor, and I serve as a military chaplain. I just returned from the East, where I delivered important stuff to the Azov regiment defending us from the occupiers. The boys’ fighting spirit is strong, and they carry out combat tasks effectively.
I hope that you are not tired of my articles yet because I plan to continue writing them at least until our victory. This one might seem radical to you. But, as always, everything said here is purely my opinion.
June 2020 was very active, fruitful, and full of good deeds for me. I’ve been to the East three times, wrote two articles, and found time to work. I have almost no days off. Just like our boys who are defending us from the occupiers.
In this article, I will talk about the last two trips to Azov in the east, there will be a small interview with my good friend Roman, aka Break, and my thoughts on what we should expect in the future.
In my last article, I spoke about why fighting is harder for the boys in the east than in Kyiv Oblast’ or Chernihiv Oblast’ . Go take a look.
An Unexpected Meeting
On a June day, a friend posted a video with a guy from Azov on Instagram. I thought: “Wait, that’s Roma.”
And so it began. He was just returning from the East, and we were able to meet. I was always interested in a few things about Azov and life on the front, so I decided to ask him. Below is a short summary of our dialogue.
Me: Where exactly did you fight?
Break: Donetsk Oblast in 2015, Horenka, Moshchun and the East of Ukraine in 2022.
Me: What is your role on the battlefield?
Break: Sniper and Javelin operator.
Me: Is it true that you have to adhere to a certain faith to serve in Azov?
Break: Maybe that was the case before, but not anymore.
Me: How do you remain sane after all the horror of war you witnessed?
Break: I promised myself I would not be consumed by darkness, no matter what.
(And it works. Roman still remains the same joyful, positive person I’ve known since 2017)
Me: What is the scariest time of your life?
Break: Maidan in 2014. You stand with only a shield and no weapons, everything around you is burning, people are yelling, and you’re constantly beaten and showered in cold water in freezing weather.
After our talk, I decided to take Roma and his stuff to his post so that he doesn’t need to take the train or use other means of transportation. We had a good time on our trip, which took around 9 hours in the heat with no AC on a Dacia Sandero. We arrived with three layers of dust on our foreheads, but it was still better than riding in the back of a KRAZ.
On my second trip to them, from which I returned a few days back, we purchased and delivered:
500 liters of fuel
1 printer
100 camo shirts
20 tourniquets
20 bandage rolls.
400 meals
40 tactical gloves
2 bedrolls
2 boxes of protein bars
The entire trip cost counted up to more than 110 000 hryvnias (~$3700).
None of this would have been possible without the support of every one of you, especially the East European Reformation Foundation, Vitalik Ratushny, and many more. After leaving Azov, I visited Hennadiy Mohnenko and his team.
If there were ranks among volunteers, the photo above would have two generals on it. To my left is Hennadiy- founder of Pilgrim Republic in Mariupol. He had adopted over 40 children. I could write and write about him, this man is a rock! To my left is Albert, his assistant. If there is a hot spot on the front, Albert will go there. There is a video on Hennadiy’s Instagram where a shell explodes near Albert’s car during the evacuation, piercing his radiator. In February, these two and their team evacuated thousands of people from Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast’ and Zaporizhia Oblast.
On negative expressions toward the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Sometimes I hear quite unpleasant expressions, such as about the chaos that sometimes happens in our Armed Forces. About commanders of battalions and brigades, who are “off the hinges’’ in the bad sense, about mobilizing people who will be of no use on the front or just the mobilization plan. I always respond that if everything was that bad, Kyiv would actually be taken in three days, as the propaganda on russian TV stated. Mostly, we were prepared for the invasion, and the russians actually were not. They already have almost 40 thousand dead, and those are conservative estimates. In reality, over 45 thousand occupants have died in Ukraine. Those are the army + private russian army, and other mercenaries + people from the DLPR.
When, in February, I spoke with my friend about what we will do when the war starts, I said I hope the great sacrifice of our country and our people will serve to make the evil empire crumble away, just like the soviet union did once.
What’s next?
My wife never understood me when I refused to buy an apartment or a new car. I always said that while dictatorship rules in russia, I didn’t want to risk our money.
My article on evacuation from February 23rd, 2022, truly was a prophecy. I wrote it in 30 minutes while commuting to work on a train. Who knew that on the very next day, our lives would change forever… I regret not publishing it earlier.
I am personally preparing for a large-scale conflict. I think there are bigger challenges for the entire world ahead of us. And I want to be ready for them. I also want to receive military education in the West, to help as much as I can in decision-making centers.
Along with all that, there is a new recession developing in the world, and God alone knows its scale. Most importantly, we will get through all this and emerge stronger.
Our children will live in a mighty, prosperous, truly European Country.
What shouldn’t be in our country?
I traveled almost the entirety of Ukraine in the past 4 months. I haven’t been only to Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Chernivtsi. Folks, the way our roads have improved! I know that if you leave the highway, the road won’t always be as good. But, you can quickly and easily get around in a car, whether going to Dnipro, Lviv, Poltava, or anywhere else. We have many good things going for us. But, as Yaroslav Hrytsak wrote in his Global History of Ukraine, we are a wealthy country of poor people. Before the war we were leading in exports of metal, wheat, and oils. We are also one of the most educated nations in Europe. Even during the war IT exports grew by 27% according to Forbes Ukraine. And yet, figuratively speaking, the only European country with lower GDP than us in Moldova. We get paid coins on a dollar, and the state of public medicine is very poor. Before the war, we always begged for everything.
When we rebuild Ukraine, I don’t want it to beg anyone for loans. I want us to lend to others. I want us to have everything in abundance. Crediting is good. But if it were to do it, I’d want to do it as equal partners. That is where we’re heading. Everything will be Ukraine!
Thank you for reading to the end. If you want to support my chaplain work, don’t hesitate!
There are several ways to support me:
- Monobank 5375411500926550
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- IBAN UA123220010000026207312567578
Below is a series of my articles on the war and my time in russian captivity.
