“Combat action is not a game in Counter-Strike”: a guard from Kryvyi Rih about Mariupol and injuries
The face of this military man became known all over the world. His photo fell into the lens of the pressofitter of the OZSP “Azov” Dmitry Kozatsky and visited exhibitions in different countries of Europe.
Vladimir 27. He has two children, the younger of whom was born on March 9, 2022, when the guard was on duty in the Donetsk region. At that time, Mariupol was already surrounded by Russian troops, and there was almost no mobile communication.
“I remember sleeping before duty and the guys woke me up and started greeting me. I didn't understand anything at first, and then I went looking for a connection to call my wife and see the baby. Then I gave myself a word that I would definitely return home, because my family is waiting for me there,” Volodymyr recalls.
“Once in the bunker, a fighter from “Azov” saw me and said that I had become famous, because my photo spread all over the Internet and was at various exhibitions abroad. It was done spontaneously. I wanted to look neat (military habit), so I asked for a few minutes to wash and get dressed,” the military says.
According to him, even in such conditions, the fighters tried to protect their relatives and did not always talk about the extent of their injuries.
For many military and rotation came first, so the experience as such was not yet there. For several weeks, a group of National Guardsmen served at a fish and cannery. Their main task was to conduct surveillance and transmit the operational situation. At the end of March 2022, the group had to be based at another position in the area of the morport, as enemy troops began to withdraw more and more equipment and conducted intense fire from heavy artillery.
“It is difficult to resist tanks with small arms. Combat action is not a game in Counter-Strike, so the strategies are not suitable here. The situation changed every minute and you had to adapt to everything,” Volodymyr says.
In mid-April, the National Guardsman, together with his comrades, after the breakthrough of the column on the “Azovstal”, again went to the position. As a result of the artillery shelling, the soldier received a shrapnel wound to the face and was evacuated to a field hospital on the territory of the plant.
As part of another exchange of prisoners of war in February this year, Vladimir returned home. Today, the guard continues treatment and rehabilitation after his injury and spends time with his family.
National Guard of Ukraine
