Operating alongside the Armed Forces: how Ukraine’s National Guard is fighting at front line

Espreso TV shared the story of a National Guard soldier who has returned from a tour of duty.

The soldier, callsign Krym, has been serving in the National Guard of Ukraine since 2015. He started his career in the army with conscript service. Since then, he has been interested in the army and signed a contract. Krym was offered service in the presidential troops, but he refused the position because he wanted to be more helpful by defending Ukraine. So he started playing sports, fought at the front line, and became a senior combat training instructor.

"At first, I was the company's chief sergeant," Krym says. "Then I was offered to go to school to become a physical training instructor. I practiced, taught instructional activities, and after that I was offered to become a firearms instructor. I have liked weapons since childhood, and my dream came true, so now I am a full-time weapons officer."

The National Guard's first rotation was in late 2016. At that time, he was carrying out a mission in Rubizhne, Luhansk region. He completed the rotation and returned with combat experience to train new recruits. During the full-scale war, he did not hesitate to return to defend Ukraine.

"At first we went to Kurakhove, Donetsk region, to fulfill a mission," Krym recalls. "We guarded the checkpoint for almost the entire rotation. And at the end of the rotation, Russians broke through the positions in the village of Pavlivka. Then we formed an assault group. I joined it and began to repel the enemy's attacks."

The task was to defend and hold Pavlivka. The guards entered from the direction of Vuhledar. Then they immediately came under mortar and tank fire. Miraculously, they managed to reach their destination.

"The operation lasted a long time," says the fighter. "The left side of the village was already under enemy control, and the right side was still ours. We were moving between the houses. We walked about 500 meters for 40 to 45 minutes. There was constant shelling, we were always hiding behind houses. Thank God we reached our destination without any losses."

Krym says that they had to fight with Russian military personnel who knew their job well. But the Ukrainian military were able to successfully repel Russian attacks. Most of Krym's comrades survived. The full-scale war has shown that the National Guard can also adequately perform combat missions alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

"As the war shows, the National Guard is also working at the front line, helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine and performing combat missions through clearing, filtering and other combat tasks," the military summarized.

Now Krym has returned from the front line and continues to train the military. He adjusted the training to NATO standards. He also tries to share his experience as much as possible so that the recruits know how to act in different situations at the front line.