Survived the occupation, now - in the Bakhmut direction: the story of the courageous border guard “Cobra” (VIDEO)
The border guard Olya with the nickname “Cobra” was the first to see the gathering of Rashists near the border, survived the occupation and went with her boys to Bakhmut. Its story began in the Ukrainian city of Volchansk on the border with Russia. There the girl was born and began serving in the border department.
In the ranks of the State Fiscal Service “Kobra” since 2018. Before a full-scale war, she monitored the situation on the border using technical means. The night of February 23-24, 2022 was forever imprinted in the memory of the girl: the movement of enemy military equipment, signaling missiles, the inability to contact the outfits, the collection of personnel, preparation for evacuation of unit documentation, shelling, shelter and reports. The vast majority of the unit left for Kharkov that day. Cobra met her brothers and sisters only two months later. All this time she remained under occupation.
The border guard recalls that the Rashists first sought and terrorized the men of the Nazis, then they took on their relatives and the girls of the military. She says that they asked for her and for her sister, who is married to a soldier from the Luhansk border detachment. Olya was able to get out of the occupation and joined the unit.
When the commandery went to the Bakhmut direction, the women of the unit were given a choice - to remain to serve in the Kharkiv region or to go to the Donetsk region. “Cobra” did not hesitate and went to the zone of active hostilities.
“Here we are doing the same work that we were doing. We keep in touch with the guys, watch the streams, adjust and provide the guys with information for successful work. If I observe the movement of the enemy or equipment, then I immediately report to the commander in order to warn the guys about the attempts of the occupiers to storm the positions. It is easier for children to know that we are watching over them. But it's hard to see it all online and sometimes not be able to help, when one of the guys gets hurt, we immediately report it, and we call an evacuation team. Here is a slightly different story - the cameras are not stationary, but our UAVs fly in the sky and allow us to view the streams and give information to our guys,” says Olya.
In such dangerous conditions, both men and women have shown that joint efforts and mutual understanding provide an effective defense force.
“My girls and I are used to moving. We don't carry a lot of things with us. Everything we need is packed into two backpacks. We create conditions for a comfortable service. We are just as military as everyone else,” says Cobra.
After the Victory, Olya dreams of returning to her hometown and continuing her service there.
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
