Running under mines to save comrades: about the determination of a young border guard
In 2020, Kharkiv resident Maxim, who barely turned 20, joined the ranks of the State Border Guard Service. Since childhood, he adored dogs and dreamed of becoming a dog handler. But life made adjustments: Maxim was involved in service in one of the units of the Kharkiv border patrol, received higher education in absentia... But on February 24, his life experience and responsibilities changed dramatically.
“Around 5 a.m. on February 24, I received the command to arrive at the unit. Immediately gathered, I went to the gathering place. The place of gathering was changed several times along the way. I immediately realized that the team was not educational. After meeting with the unit, I learned that Russia started a full-scale war,” says Maxim.
Maxim's unit performed various tasks: provided protection and cover of the airport and prevented the landing of the Russian landing, carried out control measures to detect saboteurs and collaborators. Also, the fighters of the unit were involved in the execution of combat tasks directly at zero.
During the execution of one of these tasks, the location of the unit was subjected to massive shelling. Maxim was the closest to provide assistance and inform the brethren of the order to move to reserve positions. He and another comrade under mines rushed to help.
“As we moved towards ours, the enemy was constantly watching us with drones. But he could not beat us because we were fast, and in war mobility is one of the main criteria for success. The mines lay next to each other. Arriving at the place, we saw that the place of our deployment was destroyed and everything was on fire. I notice that one of my companions got a contusion and lost the ability to move on his own. I decided to evacuate my brother,” Maxim recalls.
Together with another soldier, they pulled a comrade out of the shelling, helped him. And under incessant shelling they returned to their positions. The fighter says that then all the co-servicemen moved
alive to reserve positions and continued to perform their combat tasks.
At present, Maxim continues to perform the tasks of defense and protection of the eastern borders. He is confident that Ukraine will win and soon he will return to his unit.
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
