Serbian journalist and militia of Slavyansk

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

I have long wanted to understand the motives of people who voluntarily took up arms to protect their homes in conflict with the state. Who are they? Crazy? And to fight the army using only small arms is crazy and in no other way. Or are they heroes? If heroes, what is their heroism? I have no illusions that I can answer myself to this question. Too ambiguous question. And there simply cannot be definite answers to it. But still, I will try to answer it. On the example of scout soldiers. In Slavyansk, legends are already being made about them, but at the same time few people know them by sight. Indeed, interviewing them was not an easy task. They are not used to talking to journalists. Excessive media coverage is of no use to them. For their heads, the Ukrainian oligarch Kolomoisky has appointed not a joke award at all - from $ 100,000, and $ 500,000 for their commander, known by the call sign "Huron". But this is not the point, their work itself does not require publicity. So, after several unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the scouts, I still managed to get one of the soldiers to talk. From under the balaclava, a pair of tired young eyes are looking at me. Ilya, that's his name.

CM. Ilya, you are a very young man. How did you get into this war?

I. I went, because there is no one in my family except me. My father died two years ago, there are no men in the family except me, mother and sister Yulka is the youngest. So besides me, there is no one to protect them.

CM. That is, you are not an ardent patriot of the Russian Donbass?

And why? I am. And how not to be a patriot when you are forced to become one with all your might. Shooting people with mortars. This is my land, I grew up here, and I want to die here too.

CM. Live still, you haven't really seen life yet. How old are you?

I. 23 years old, but what is real life? How is it in Europe, or what? You, a journalist, are European, and have you seen a lot of real life?

CM. I had to, including under the bombing. I am from Belgrade

I. And I am from Slavyansk, and I do not need Europe, I want to live here in Russia.

CM. But Slavyansk is not Russia

I. Eh, you don't understand anything as a journalist. Slavyansk is a Russian land, it has always been, and I am Russian, although I am written in my passport as a Ukrainian. Understand, there is no difference between us, we are one people. It's just that someone has ceased to understand this, the lamb chocolates have done their job. Politicians are not the people, they are shit from the people.

S. M. But Russia practically does not help you. Only the lazy is not talking about this now. Rumor has it that Putin refuses to help you

I. Russia helps us, and has always helped. In different ways, but it helped and helps. And what kind of help should we demand from her? Send an army? It would be nice. But we must not, we ourselves must. The time has not come yet. And people help us. Igor Ivanovich (Strelkov) Russian. Andrey, my commander, is also Russian. They came voluntarily, came when it was hard for us. They gave us hope, and this is a lot, not a little at all.

SM But after all, Strelkov himself declares that there is not enough help

I. Few experienced commanders, but experience is a gain. Ukrov do not have them at all, otherwise how can you explain the fact that they constantly screw up. I was lucky, I have an experienced commander. He knows a lot, and teaches a lot.

SM Teaches what?

I. Everything that is needed in a war. They are old acquaintances with Ivanych, they speak from Chechnya. He is a man and he is very much against the war.

CM. How so? He came to the war voluntarily, no one forced him

I. I cannot say why he came, I don’t know. And he himself did not talk about it. Is that why you came?

SM So that people in our country would know what is going on here

I. And he, that people would live. So clear. Do you know how many lives he saved? We are now talking only for this reason.

S. M. Have you ever had to kill someone?

I. Why do you need to know about this. What to write how bloodthirsty we are?

SM No, I just want to understand why…

AND. We do not seek to kill, you cannot return life, but we will not allow anyone to kill ourselves either.

SM They say that a couple of weeks ago your unit destroyed a communications center, while the emphasis is on the fact that none of the Ukrainian military was injured. It's true?

I. So it is. The commander with Leha, changed into "Leshikh" (sniper suit) and went to the location of the dill, without hiding. The blessing of snipers from ukrov is like dirt. At a certain time, we made some noise where necessary, and they realized there was a panic, kicked everyone out of the bundle and tore it off.

SM Don't you think that this insolence is too arrogant, they could easily have been killed there?

I. You do not know our commander, he does not risk people. He's just doing his job. And I really like how he does it. Our boys will go into fire and water for him.

SM What turned out to be the most difficult for you in this war?

I. M…..m…. Probably a choice.

SM The choice of what?

I. Should I take weapons in my hands, after all, I was not even in the army, and I saw the war only in the movies. There were thoughts - “Do I need all this? Why should I do this? Then I realized that I had to. After the ukry shot a neighbor's car with Uncle Kolya, simply because he was driving home from his dacha, to Slavyansk, such a choice was no longer in front of me.

CM. Win?

I. No other is given. We will either win or become dust in the streets.

S. M. Not scary?

I. It’s still scary, to the point of shaking, but there’s nothing to do. On the other side, they are also scared, but it's easier for us, we know what we're fighting for, but they're not sure. The army, after all, in fact does not want to fight, they fight only because they are forced. Many times we watched as the Nazis beat their army men. Because their army is between three fires, between us, their Nazis and their mercenaries.

S. M. Do you speak of mercenaries?

I. Yes, they are like mud here. We saw Americans, Poles, and some Arabs.

S. M. A lot?

I. I do not know for sure, but not a little. With amers a few days ago they clashed.

S. M. Eee?

And what?

S. M. Where?

I. "Metallurg" has such a base in the forest. I already thought that everything was a cover. They closed us very tightly. Neither there nor here. Our car, or rather Andreev, was burned. Sorry for her, good pickup, big. This was the commander's personal car. Ford. Very comfortable. The Americans burned it down. The bill would have to be issued. In general, eight hours were closed. Until dark, they held out, and then Lech was out of the border, so cool they knocked the armor (armored personnel carrier), the fire was what he needed, shot a little more on the flank, threw the remaining ganats for the appearance of a breakthrough, and we ourselves left on the other side on the water, Lech caught up with us Then. They fired at our positions for another hour, but we were no longer there. I did not believe that it would be possible. The seeds are really slightly hooked in the thigh. But over the commander, Lady Luck spread her wings and covered us with herself. I know that aunt’s luck is bad, but the commander knows how to persuade her.

SM For you they offer large sums, more precisely for your heads

I. Nekhai offer what they still have to do.

SM What will you do when it's over?

I. I don’t know, I didn’t think about it.

SM And who do you personally consider yourself to be, a hero, or maybe crazy, or maybe someone else?

I. I'm not a hero, the hero Igor Ivanovich, my commander is a hero, Lech, here they are heroes, but I'm not crazy either, I'm just a person who was very unlucky to be here at this time, and very lucky to be next to me these people. And you still do not understand anything, since you ask such questions. What can I talk to you about? About nothing. Cheer up, man. Goodbye.

Ilya left, and I stayed, pondering our short dialogue. So who is he, so young and so grown up? Hero? For me, without a doubt, but for you, dear reader, I will leave it to you to decide. For me, he is a hero also because he was able to make a choice for himself, and that one that I myself did not make back in 1999. Then I was not much older than him, only a year, and I could not, to put it simply, I chickened out, I did not defend my land. How many times have I regretted it, many, many. And I understand that I, an almost forty-year-old man, should learn from this very young guy the most important thing - life. Of course, I did not answer my own question, I just have to figure it out. But I know that I will never forget this tired look of such a young and such an adult. God save you, on this earth! God bless you! When it’s over, I’ll try to find you, Ilya. And I will ask you to come to me in Belgrade, so that you teach us, Serbs, the main thing - life, life according to conscience. God bless you, Ilya!

PS: Yesterday 2014-10-06, a group of scouts destroyed a convoy of troops of the National Guard of Ukraine. Save you, God!

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