Do not postpone life for later - the story of a border guard with a happy ending
For the border guard Ivan, as for most Ukrainians, 2022 has been a stunning year. For the military man, it was a year filled with events that were forever imprinted in his memory - meeting with the enemy face to face, fierce battles for his native land, captivity and rethinking his whole life, and then - the long-awaited exchange and marriage with his beloved.
Ivan is from the military dynasty, joined the ranks of the State Border Guard Service in 2008. He knows his direction of service perfectly, because he passed all the senior ranks in combat units in different parts of the border. Since 2018, he served on the direct line of contact with the Rashists, at that time with the occupied territory.
Ivan met his chosen one, Marina, in the Odessa region, while serving in one of the units. Soon he left for duty in the east of the country, but on the morning of February 24, a full-scale invasion, changed the lives of each of us...
Recalling the morning of February 24, the border guard says: “We did not believe until the last that it would start, we woke up from loud explosions of hail around the outskirts of our city, which over time became closer and closer. In order to protect the personnel, it was decided to bring everyone to a safer place and carry out reconnaissance, clearing the quarters through combat “sorties”. However, the forces were quite uneven. The enemy began to advance and encircle the city of Mariupol, we had to retreat to the Ilyich plant, and then the prisoners: Sartana, Olenovka, Voronezh SIZO... We had to go through physical and moral suffering: “Ukraine no longer exists...”, “poems in racial language” and the study of “gigi a terrorist state”... it is extremely difficult...”
It is not easy to remember all the torments and tortures that the guy had to endure. Rescued were his dreams of freedom and his beloved girlfriend, who at the time had no idea of his whereabouts, but stubbornly waited, searched, hoping to see him alive.
And here the long-awaited November 26 is the day that became the second birthday for Ivan, because it was on this day that he was freed from hellish captivity. And it was on this day that he confessed to his chosen one, because now he knew for sure that it was necessary to appreciate every minute of his life and the presented bright feeling of love, and it was necessary to live it right now, without postponing until later.
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
