Rubets Oleksiy, codename Aknod
We underwent a 5-day training at the Ministry of Interior Academy and two weeks of training at the proving ground. And immediately after that we were sent to Ilovaisk.
There were 20 of us when we arrived but on August 21st those who could not fight were allowed to leave.
7 men from my platoon left. 13 of us remained. On the 29th only 5 came out of Ilovaisk.
In 2014, when I decided to go, it was exactly 40 days after the death of my father. It was May 1st.
My mother said one important thing: “Not a single independent state was gained without bloodshed.
This country was gifted to us 23 years ago. Our assignment now is to defend her. And you will have to pay with blood. Go, my son.”
The column was pulled out of Mnohopillya. And almost immediately started taking fire from an enemy position on the hill, the one on our left.
One of the mortar shells landed in front of our bus. Thank God, no one got hurt but the bus, the bus was done for.
An armored personnel carrier stops, can’t fit as many men in an armored personnel carrier. A bus stops, and takes on men. It’s like a packed city bus during rush hour but we’re able to stuff two more men into it.
And in this way I got everyone onto some sort of vehicle. I got into the last armored personnel carrier.
As a result, what did we demand first? Armored vehicles. That’s why we had such huge losses in the newbie platoon—we lost 8 men in one day.
When we were brought to the separatists, a generator was humming; we were blindfolded, and because of huge blood loss, felt very cold and shivered constantly.
They put us on stretchers, covered us with some kind of blanket. And, you understand, it is a woolen blanket and you feel warm. And then a voice: “Take those covers off those… (I don’t remember what he called us).”
They wanted to tie us up with the gauze bandages. They kept hitting us in the head. Then a voice: “Don’t take them, we’ll exchange some of our dead for them.”
And you so don’t give a shit, you just want to get warm. You’re lying under this blanket and you don’t know how it all will end.
I can’t say there were people among these militants. Every person should understand what they’re doing, and what their goal is. Everyone is responsible for their actions.
I interacted a lot with Russians before the war; they have no concept of the term “human.”
They only understand “Russian”, everyone else is a Churk, Nigger, Khokhol, or Bulbash.