“The city was on fire, everything around burned and exploded,” - a soldier of the Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Rubezh” about the defense of Rubezhny
The fighter under the callsign Aryets during the period from the beginning of the full-scale invasion took part in the battles for Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, in the Kharkiv offensive operation, and now fights on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
Ariets received his first combat experience in the Svitlodar arc, even before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation.
“War then and now are different things. At Svitlodarka we had a distance of about 700 meters to the enemy, only occasionally there were shelling from large-caliber weapons and periodic shelling from artillery. At that time it looked like a frozen war, but it was still clear that the enemy was preparing for something bigger.
We came to Lisichansk, spent the night, everything seemed to be fine, the enemy only occasionally shelled the city. But when we had already gone directly to Rubezhnaya through the window of my car, I saw a real blockbuster: the city was on fire, everything around was burning and exploding, something I had not yet encountered in my life.
When we had already reached the position, I met with my brother, whom I have known for a long time. Morally then it became a little easier. He helped me, introduced me to the course of affairs and told about the enemy,” Ariets shared his memories.
According to the military, the defense of Rubezhny for the “Rubezh” brigade became a symbol of the indestructibility and resilience of the fighters, who for more than two months in cooperation with other units held this city.
On the outskirts of Bakhmut, Ariets is already acting as a unit commander and with his fighters they hold the lines and fight back against the enemy.
“Under Bakhmut, we are on the defensive and the enemy here is different. Often you meet poorly equipped Russian mobilizers, who sometimes do not fully understand what they are doing here. Accordingly, they fight weakly. But sometimes we meet very prepared and militarily literate opponents who know tactics, know how to move correctly and look for weaknesses. I personally met the enemy grenade launcher, which was very coordinated, worked like clockwork, knew how to pick the moment and hit our positions well,” the fighter noted.
Motivation in the Aryan is the complete victory over the enemy and the expulsion of him from our land. And his fighters inspire our hero. In their results, he sees a reflection of his work.
“We have every chance of winning. I have seen our warriors ruthlessly stop the enemy. They have something to fight for and who to defend — that helps us a lot. Let us be less, but we are motivated, we do not feel sorry for ourselves and we try to make it easier for others to follow us, which distinguishes us from the enemy. We will win when we take all our land and liberate our people. We do not need a stranger, but we will not give ours,” the National Guard said.
National Guard of Ukraine
