I will return to my hometown with the Ukrainian flag — a guard from Novodruzhsk about the battles with the invaders for my native Luhansk region
For more than eight years, Rostislav knows what war is, neither from TV screens nor from the stories of friends. In his twenty-four years, the guard, originally from Novodruzhsk, met a full-scale invasion of the invaders in Rubezhnoe.
“As usual, we woke up early and started gathering for scheduled guard duty. A few minutes before our departure, the commander told us: “The war has begun”! - recalls Rostislav. “For the first couple of weeks we defended a part, and then we were sent to defend the base of our brothers from the Armed Forces, which in addition to the rest was a tank unit. And a little later — to the outskirts of Rubezhnaya from the side of Kreminna. There, together with the soldiers of the Armed Forces, we had to restrain the enemy that broke through.”
And then there was the industrial zone on the outskirts of the city, the work of enemy artillery and tanks. There, the guard recalls, it was really hot. And it was there that he received a shrapnel wound.
“It was a five-story building, on which we equipped ourselves an observation post on the fifth floor. We were told - to the enemy some 200-300 meters, you see the movement - open fire on the damage. At first everything was fine, but later our post was revealed and a tank began to work on us, right on our floor. I counted eight arrivals, we were saved by a reliable overlap and concrete columns that could withstand it all. And actually the splinter that hit my cheek, I felt eight hours after the shelling, when we came to rest, if in such conditions at that time you can say that,” says the guard
Rostyslav says he keeps this fragment in a military ticket and considers it his amulet. And he also recalls the experience of the communicator, which he had to master during the battles in the city.
“When we changed our position once again, fierce positional battles were already taking place in Rubezhnoe. Our guys deliciously “poured” on the invaders, fought for every house and every street. There I was appointed as a communicator. I remember one of the days there was almost silence on the radio, and then I hear them tell me that the enemy is already in our house. Then there was a fight with the enemy infantry, several dozen of them attacked us. But the battle was very short for them. And for most, it is also the last,” the fighter assures.
The guard is clearly convinced that this war will end with an undisputed victory of the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian troops. Now Rostislav is undergoing a rehabilitation course, including after a shrapnel wound. He is convinced:
“Our Ukrainian blue-yellow flag will be raised in my native Novodruzhsk. We will return it to Rubezhny and other cities and villages of Luhansk and Donetsk region. And we will do it thanks to victories on the battlefield. Because we are a nation of winners, unbreakable and strong.”
Press service of the NGU
