Hearing the Ukrainian language was a moment of absolute happiness: the story of a border guard who was captured
Work at the factory, home, beloved wife and 4 children — family idyll filled the life of Volodymyr Kostenko from Zaporizhia before the war began in 2014. When the occupation troops crossed the borders of Ukraine, the man firmly decided that he would not stay at home.
In March 2014, the man joined the ranks of the State Border Guard Service. Participated in battles in the Novoazov direction, deterred the enemy on the approaches to Mariupol. From the first days of service, Vladimir became in one position with the soldiers of the 1st border detachment. With them, he met a full-scale invasion.
On February 24, 2022, the military carried out service at the post of technical observation of the equator of the Sea of Azov in the village of Sopine, near the national park. Shyrokyne. The enemy began to “greet” the border guards as early as February 23. Then the first volleys from hail sounded, Russian tanks began to “walk”.
“We received the order to occupy the defense. On February 24, at 06:00 in the morning, the waters of the Sea of Azov were already mined. And at about 10:00, the command arrived to leave. Then came the “Azovites” and took us with them. Together we set up fortification positions. When our border guards arrived, we withdrew to Dnipro,” Volodymyr recalls.
There the military regrouped, received additional weapons and returned to Mariupol. As soon as we entered the city, the “box” closed behind us. Mariupol was surrounded. Next was “Azovmash”. There, the border guards were “broken” into pieces for the defense of the city and handed over to the “Azovites”. At first, Vladimir says, they went to observation posts, later they began to actively defend themselves.
“Our task was to adjust the fire in the Old Crimea. He was already fascinated by that moment. This lasted until March 17, then the Russians broke through the defenses of the city and street battles began. We defended Kirovsky district. There was an extremely difficult situation in the city,” Volodymyr recalls.
Often the fighting took place in high-rise buildings. The military had to break down the doors of the apartments to occupy the defense. And at this time there were still many civilians left in the city, which greatly complicated the defense. Vladimir tells how he and his brothers knocked on the apartment, asked people to go down to the basement. Their warnings were often ignored. As a result, civilians came under fire. There were many dead, and it became increasingly difficult to help the wounded.
There was also a problem with hospitals at the time. The occupiers began to capture them, took medics hostage so that they would help their wounded. From the memories of Vladimir, everything was constantly burning in the city. There were cries for help from high-rise buildings, people died from shells in their own homes, and the military could not do anything because the shelling could not reach the victims.
The enemy forces grew day by day. Then I had to leave. Under constant torrential fire, the border guards reached the Ilyich plant. They settled in the workshop together with the “Azov” and marines. The defense was held for two weeks. Eat once a day. Most of all, there was not enough water. They melted the snow, drank technical water and prepared for the breakthrough.
All this time, Vladimir did not leave the thought of the family, which was in the city of Pologa near Mariupol and came under occupation on February 28. The last time the military spoke by phone with his family on March 3. Then the wife said that they were being shelled, there were no communications, the lights were turned off and communication was soon interrupted, because the Russians had turned off the “towers”.
The border guard did not know the further fate of the family. It was there at the factory that he miraculously managed to get in touch with his relatives. The soldier's family by that time had already been evacuated to the Zaporizhzhya region and the border guard exhaled with relief.
In early May, the military from the Ilyich plant decided to make a breakthrough. However, he was unsuccessful. At that time, the plant was surrounded by enemy forces in three rings, their number was about 16 thousand people. Artillery was constantly working on the defenses of Mariupol, shelling aircraft. Every 15-20 minutes, according to Vladimir, air bombs were dropped on the military. When there was no chance of a breakthrough, the military were ordered to surrender in order to preserve life.
“We left the factory on April 12. In the hands of the Dnepropetrovsk marines, I understood this from the chevrons. They took all personal belongings, put us on a bus and took us to Sartana, and in three days — to Olenivka. They met very harshly there. Beaten. There was no water and no food. We were kept in a barrack, which was designed for 120 people, and there were more than 800 of us,” Volodymyr says.
Subsequently, the military was interviewed and taken to Taganrog. Next — ryazana, mordovia. Vladimir recalls how in each new place taking beatings. The ascent began at 06:00 and the prisoners stood all day until 23:00. They were not even allowed to sit down. Every day they were forced to sing the anthem of the Russian Federation, and Russian propaganda and stories about “Ukrainian fascists” were constantly heard from the radio. Once the captured Ukrainian servicemen were hatched until they lost consciousness, and all because they refused to congratulate the convoys on February 23 (the day of the protector of the flock in the Russian Federation).
Vladimir was in captivity for 1 year. He says that the night before the exchange, he had a prophetic dream.
“I dreamed that I and the rest of our military were being “packed” into a truck, one was already full and the second arrived. I went into the wilderness with a few other guys. And when he asked where she was going, they said, “HOME.” Then these faces from the dream, I saw in the camera before the exchange, and later on my native Ukrainian land. I was in shock, I still do not understand how this is possible,” Volodymyr recalls with surprise.
The border guard returned to the territory of Ukraine in prison slippers. He says the clothes were given to him, but the berets — convoys were left for themselves. On the way to the place of exchange of prisoners, bags were put on their heads and told to sit quietly, or they would shoot, and within a few minutes a man came to the bus and said in Ukrainian “Guys, come out, it's over! You are home!”
“The feeling of hearing the Ukrainian language is difficult to convey. It was a moment of absolute happiness. During the crossing at the checkpoint, we saw their soldiers who were in Ukrainian captivity: all cleanly dressed, fattened, with hairstyles, and we were thin, beaten like death itself. I remember how I was given an apple, I remember its taste and smell. It was the smell of will,” the man explains.
Memories of the first call to the family, cause Vladimir tears in his eyes. He said then he also cried because he heard the voice of his 5-year-old daughter. It was not possible to meet with relatives immediately, because after captivity, the man lost weight by 24 kilograms, had numerous physical injuries, abscesses on his legs and needed rehabilitation. After the sanatorium, the border guard spent time with his family and again returned to the ranks of his native Donetsk border detachment.
Currently, Vladimir performs official duties in the same line with his brothers, dreams of peace and his own home somewhere in a quiet place. He says that after the Victory he will not leave the service. After all, with such a neighbor you need to always be in good shape and in readiness for the defense of the Motherland. But he already has plans for retirement, wants to grow his own vineyard and become a winemaker. And so that his whole large family would gather at the family table for heartfelt conversations over a glass of fragrant homemade wine made with love.
State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
