Heroes of Ukraine. "The Russians fled headlong, at some positions even the food was still hot": warrior nicknamed ‘Saint’ on liberation of Kharkiv region

Espreso TV tells the story of the warrior 

The defender nicknamed ‘Saint’ has been fighting at the front since 2016. At the age of 18, he signed a contract with Ukraine's Armed Forces and went to defend the Motherland. He fought with the 36th Marine Brigade in the Donetsk region. And during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he fought with the Russian forces as part of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade.  Together with his comrades, he liberated the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. 

He left his studies to defend Ukraine

‘Saint’ has worried about the fate of Ukraine since 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity. He was only 16 at the time. The boy studied at the College of Oil and Gas in the Lviv region. He was not on the Maidan in Kyiv, but actively joined the Ukrainian resistance at local actions.

“When I turned 18 years old, I started studying by correspondence and signed a contract with Ukraine's Armed Forces,” the soldier with the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade says. “It was 2016. I didn't tell anyone that I was going to the army. I started collecting documents, underwent a medical examination, and when it was necessary to go to the unit, I told my parents about his decision. I really wanted to serve and protect the Motherland.”

Saint received his first military experience in the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the man, he chose the marines because they are considered an elite unit. Then he got to the Mariupol direction - he defended Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, Vodiane, and Lebedynske.

“Then there was a positional war,” the soldier recalls. “The shelling was weak, everyone was dug in, and sometimes the positions were equipped. At that time, I gained the experience that was needed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. I became an operator of the Stuhna-P system and already knew that my skills would be needed in the war. I wanted to defend Ukraine because I love it. I knew I had to be at the front.”

The man served four years on the outskirts of Mariupol. And then he resigned from Ukraine's Armed Forces. He wanted to create his own family.

“I had a fiancée at that time,” Saint says. "She was waiting for me for many years. Then we lived in Lviv, and we got married at the beginning of February. On February 6, we went on a honeymoon to Poland to visit friends. And on the morning of February 24, a friend woke me up and told me that the war had started. Of course, I had no doubt what to do. I began to call my comrades and arrange a meeting. I didn't make it to my Marine Brigade. That's why I started looking for another unit where I would be useful.”

At a distance of 300 meters, he hit the Kadyrov soldiers with a hand-held grenade launcher

Four days after the start of the full-scale invasion, the soldier had already returned to Ukraine, and on March 1, he was in the unit.  He went to defend Ukraine as part of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade. At first they defended the south. He arrived at the position on his birthday, March 17.

“The brigade carried out combat missions near Nova Kakhovka,” Saint says. “The enemy had a huge advantage in aviation. They bombarded the positions a lot and the artillery did not stop. Columns of several hundred enemy vehicles entered the positions. There were enough weapons, but then the Russian forces had the initiative. In fact, we are now attacking with almost the same equipment we had in the beginning. The problem must have been that there was not good battle coordination. That is why the casualties were almost daily. We had a tough battle near Zelenodilsk, and we were ambushed. According to intelligence, there should have been significantly fewer Russians and enemy equipment there. But they dug in well and were waiting for us. In two hours of battle, we had ten killed and 300 wounded soldiers. Then the chief sergeant of the landing-assault company Balu died. He still managed to destroy several units of enemy equipment, but he himself did not survive. It was a very painful loss for the brigade.”

The first POW in the region was an ensign from Russia’s Smolensk

Then the soldier defended the Ukrainian land in all hot spots in the Donetsk region. The outskirts of Bakhmut, Kramatorsk, Bilohorivka, Lysychansk, and Spirne - positions where active battles continued. Saint recalls that the first difficult task was in Bilohorivka, when the Russian forces were building a crossing over the river. Then the soldiers counted about thirty pieces of equipment that went over to their side. And the most successful - in Soledar.

"The fighting took place in the city, near the Knauf plant. It changed hands every day," the soldier says. We occupied a tericon not far away. Three of our guys and two snipers from the 14th Brigade were sitting there. These positions were not considered advanced, because in front of us was a gas station where the infantry was stationed. But once they say to me: "Saint, they are approaching you." Then the artillery shelling began, and the Russian forces began shelling this gas station. And during this shelling, the Russian troops drove past our first line and attacked us. Later we found out that they were the Kadyrov soldiers.  They were 300 meters away from us. And we had two hand grenade launchers at that time.  It's too short a distance to use successfully, but I hit on the second shot. Then they managed to leave and hid behind the house. However, not for long. With the help of a drone, we found them, and an American 777 howitzer almost destroyed them.”

"Russian military personnel are funny, like fatted boars. We hunted them like game"

It was the last serious point before a short vacation. Afterwards, Saint went home to baptize his son. And three days later, the liberation of the Kharkiv region began. The man's unit was going from the Donetsk region to liberate the region.

“I returned, and we had constant training on demining the territory,” the soldier says. We knew that we were going to liberate the Kharkiv region. We were waiting for the 25th Brigade to break through the corridor. We had the task of getting into the enemy's rear. That is, identify the enemy, destroy it and move on. They didn't even realize that we were behind their backs. Everything we saw on the way was being destroyed, and the enemies were fleeing. Compared to Donbas, we had almost no losses. We were advancing, Russian aircraft were flying over us, but they did not understand that we broke through to their positions. When the settlements were cleared, the Russian forces were no longer there. Sometimes we came and found hot food. While walking around the settlement, we stood at a checkpoint and took the first prisoner who did not manage to escape. It was a Russian ensign from Smolensk.”

Then there was not one prisoner, but many more, and also a lot of trophy equipment, which the Russian troops left in a hurry.

“The personnel of the Russian military are very funny characters. This is not an army, but fed boars. They were running, and we hunted them like game,” the soldier says. “The first settlement we cleared was Sukhyi Yar, then Chystovodivka. We drove in, put them on display. At night, three Russian KamAZ trucks arrived there. It was the Russian marines. The colleagues worked flawlessly. One KamAZ hit the body - and everyone sitting there was killed or wounded. A few ran away, but we caught them later. We destroyed the enemy, and now their machine is helping us.”

Then the soldiers reached the suburbs of Izyum, in Lypchanivka. The man says that there were a lot of Russian flags there, and the Russians did not even coordinate their actions among themselves. They did not know what to do: wait or run away.

“It's almost night. They tell us that a column of tanks is coming at us. We didn't get lost. We took up positions and saw two tanks with infantry,” the soldier says. “The boys let them into the village. A soldier burned one tank with the infantry, and there was nothing left of it. And on the other, the artillery was moved a little further and the commander of the tank company was taken prisoner. It was a serious trophy. We eliminated hundreds of Russian soldiers and captured a lot of equipment. I have never seen so much abandoned machinery in one place. So many tanks, IFVs, and self-propelled guns. We took everything we needed from the enemy. We refueled our cars and replenished our supplies.”

Most of the equipment was acquired in the Kharkiv region during the liberation of Izyum.  According to the soldier, the liberation of the city significantly raised the fighting spirit among the soldiers. 

“The constant battles in Donbas were very tiring. We constantly suffered losses,” the defender says. “Every day several people died and even more were wounded. And here we so brazenly broke through their rear. These events raised morale. Now it is difficult to stop. I am very glad that I was able to take part in this operation. Only now do I understand how serious the events are happening around me. The fact that we can make efforts to liberate Ukrainian land as soon as possible is great.”

Saint is sure: now is the best opportunity to get rid of Russians on Ukrainian soil. There has never been such a union of Ukrainians against the enemy. Therefore, he cannot miss a unique chance.

Espreso continues the series of stories about Heroes of Ukraine who defended and are defending the country from the invading Russian forces. Read more stories in our column titled Heroes of Ukraine.