"The close combat lasted for about an hour": a soldier from the 128th division tells how it was possible to knock the invaders out of their positions

The 128th Transcarpathian Separate Mountain Assault Division published Andriy's story on their Facebook page.

"Recently, our unit received the task of knocking out the Russians from well-fortified positions outside the village. We traveled most of the way on BMP and as soon as we appeared in the Russians' field of vision, we were covered by fire. Fighters from another unit were shooting nearby, we jumped off our armor and joined into battle," said the soldier.

According to Andriy, Russians were 500 meters away from the Ukrainian military and had very good fortifications - real earthen fortresses with dug-in infantry fighting vehicles. But our soldiers, under the cover of armored vehicles, gradually moved forward and came close to the enemy, 30 meters away.

"The close combat lasted for about an hour, even hand grenades were used, which we threw into the trenches. At one point, I went behind the BMP to reload the store, and then an RPG grenade flew into our tank, which was attacking. The tank survived," Andriy recalls.

He notes that Russians held out for a very long time. The turning point came when a Ukrainian tank drove up to the trenches and fired at them three times from a cannon. Then the enemies began to flee, dropping a lot of weapons and ammunition - from Kalashnikov assault rifles to automatic grenade launchers, machine guns and even an anti-aircraft gun. In addition to weapons, the occupiers left behind ammunition, clothes, documents, food, chevrons, tokens, personal belongings, etc.

"I was struck by how neglected their trenches were - with garbage that prevented movement, lack of food, they even installed a toilet there, instead of somewhere on the side. Not at all like Ukrainian neat trenches. The guys from the neighboring division captured a wounded Kazakh, Russians threw him while fleeing. He shouted: "I'm not Russian, don't shoot. My 3-year contract is already coming to an end!" He was very frightened and answered all the questions," the soldier says.

That day, according to him, the Ukrainian soldiers stayed overnight in the enemy trenches, because they understood that the Russians might try to repel them. There was no assault, but the positions were hit by heavy artillery fire. During the shelling, Andriy received a concussion, the next day he was evacuated to the hospital, where doctors also discovered a torn muscle in his arm.

The soldier is currently being treated, recently he celebrated his 49th birthday in a medical facility. "Relatives and comrades from the unit called with congratulations, it's nice... It's a pity that some comrades didn't get out of that battle..." - Andriy says.