Scout from 58th Brigade with call sign Vados managed to escape from captivity, return to his comrades and continue fighting occupiers. PHOTO
Professionalism and experience, multiplied by strength of mind and courage, helped Vados to get out of an almost hopeless situation alive and even unharmed.
According to Censor.NET, the story of the soldier was told on the brigade's Facebook page.
Vadym is from the Kirovohrad region. Before the war, he worked at a tobacco factory. But in February 2022, he came to the defence of the state. At first, he fought as part of the 57th Brigade, and later moved to the 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade. His entire combat career was connected with intelligence.
He notes that intelligence functions have changed dramatically. This is due to the emergence of a large number of drones. It used to be that a reconnaissance group could go behind enemy lines unnoticed to get the necessary data, but now scouts hardly ever do that. They perform the functions of infantry, sometimes working as stormtroopers. However, the command entrusts them with the most difficult tasks. Reconnaissance men have both the training and the necessary experience for this. It was professionalism and experience, multiplied by the strength of mind and courage, that helped Vados to get out of an almost hopeless situation alive and even unharmed.
"It happened in August this year. We were covering a road near a city in Donetsk region. The enemy launched an attack at half past five in the morning. The enemy attacked us brazenly, in a straight line across the field. At speed, they broke through close to our positions.
A battle ensued, in which the enemy was outnumbered. I saw my comrades dying, but I did not surrender or run away. I was contused, then something hit me in the back, in my armour. I lost consciousness.
I came to my senses, and there were Russians standing over me. As it turned out later, there were only four Russians there, the rest were Buryats. The Russians insisted that I should be shot. They allegedly had an order to execute all prisoners in Donbas, as "revenge for Kursk". I was rescued by a Buryat who did not allow them to do so. Later, I realised that it was not an act of humanity at all, they just wanted to use me as a human shield to approach our positions," the scout says.
According to Vadym, they started interrogating him according to the standard scheme: rank, unit, number, location of positions. He lied that he had been mobilised, had been at the position for only two days, knew nothing - they brought him in and threw him out. If the occupiers had found out that he was a scout, they would have killed him immediately.
"They took off my armour and helmet, tied my hands in front and ordered me to walk in the direction of our positions, while they followed me, about three metres away. I was walking and thinking: maybe I should attack the one who was closer, grab him by the throat, and let fate decide. But then the shelling starts, and it's their own mortar covering. They are trying to communicate by radio to stop the fire. Something doesn't work out, and we keep moving, periodically lying down. The Russians say: "You don't need to lie down, just crouch down". At the same time, after each explosion, they fall face first into the ground and do not see what is happening around them," Vadym recalls.
At that moment, the scout decided to try to escape.
"I realised that there were very few chances, because if we reached our trenches, they would kill us in a firefight anyway. Then my mind started to work productively: I should run away when we were close to the trees. And so, during another mine explosion, when everyone fell down and covered their heads with their hands, I jumped up and ran in the direction of the landing. A few seconds later I heard the whistling of bullets above my head. I tripped over a branch, fell down, and a line passed overhead. I picked myself up, ran again, fell again, and it saved me again. While running, I chewed on the tape that tied my hands. Eventually I got to our guys. I shouted: "Give me a machine gun!" The guys could not understand who I was - no armour, no weapons. The battle started. I got myself a machine gun and started shooting back at those who had recently taken me prisoner," the soldier says.
He managed to get out of the positions and back to his unit only at night. As it turned out, no one was waiting for Vadym - they thought he was dead.
"But I survived and came back. I was one of the five. And my close friend, with whom we started fighting, remained in that trench forever," the soldier says.
He adds that he often dreams about his fallen comrades, dreams about the faces of Russians and Buryats.
"What can we do? The war is on, and we have no other option but to keep fighting. We have a chance to survive only in battle. I know very well what the enemy does with prisoners. The same thing will happen to the whole country if we stop resisting," the scout stressed.
