"When I write, I can distract myself": story of commander of company of UAV operators and writer Serhii Tymofiiko. VIDEO+PHOTO
Serhii Tymofiiko, commander of the 63rd SMB's UAV company, talked about how he combines commanding his unit with his literary activities. Serhii edited his last two books during the fighting in the Serebryanskyi Forest, and is now writing a new thriller novel.
The soldier spoke about this in an interview with Suspilne Donbas, according to Censor.NET.
In literature, he uses the pseudonym Taras Melnyk
According to the soldier, he has been writing literary works since 2014-2015. These are mainly thrillers and mystical stories. He began publishing in 2022.
Photo - Suspilne
Serhii's call sign in the army is "King" — in honour of his favourite writer Stephen King, who writes mystical fiction and thrillers.
His literary pseudonym is Taras Melnyk.
"Since I published scientific works under my real name, I didn't want to associate these two sides of my activity. And when I published my first works somewhere in samizdat, I decided to choose a pseudonym. I have a friend who works as a pastor — Taras Melnyk. He always joked that he wanted his name to stand out against the backdrop of the era. So I wrote to him and said that I would try to help him. Besides, Taras Melnyk is one of the most common names in Ukraine. There are many thousands of Taras Melnyks, so it's very easy to remember," Serhiy said.
I started writing for myself
"After fighting in a volunteer battalion in 2014-2015, I went through a very difficult period of crisis and depression. I also had concussion. I was on sedatives and went to a neurologist for check-ups because I had severe headaches. I couldn't sleep. And to do something, I tried writing. I wrote mainly for myself. And somewhere, probably for the first time, I published something, at least in electronic form, in 2020," the soldier shares.
In 2022, Serhii was in hospital after being wounded near Vuhledar. He had a shrapnel wound and couldn't bend his leg.
Then Serhii's friends suggested that he publish some of his work.
As a result, the book "Dark Symbols" was published in 2022. According to the soldier, the book was popular.
Photo - Suspilne
"With the proceeds from the sale of this book, I bought a 338-calibre rifle. I still have it with me," says Serhii.
How he became an FPV drone operator
"For a long time, I worked as an instructor, teaching personnel how to use firearms. And then I realised: if I can teach them how to shoot, they can teach me how to fly drones. Before learning how to fly FPV drones, I studied Mavics, Autels, and Matrices. I set up repeaters and could go out with a sapper. I could get behind the wheel as a driver. I performed virtually all of these functions, and then, when I became an FPV operator, it was very cool to work in the crew as a squad commander. Although I was a platoon sergeant at the time. And at the same time, literature was alive," recalls the soldier.
Serhii also talked about how he now combines working on books with serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"I sent it to the 'Family Leisure Club' by accident: well, if it gets accepted, great, if not, then so be it. And on 8 March 2024, I received an email from the 'Family Leisure Club' saying that the editorial team had approved my novel. How did the work go? I was already an FPV operator at the time. Blindage: you kill the occupier, sit down on your phone, edit the text. They took me up for the next flight, I flew, hit something there, fine. An active day, like that, 17-20 flights — it's clear that you're not doing anything. On the second day, the occupiers calmed down a bit. Two or three flights a day, that's it, the rest of the time you're still in the dugout, you can't go anywhere, but you can sit down with your phone and edit — that was possible. That's how I edited," says the defender.
According to Serhii, he edited his last two books during the fighting in the Serebrianskyi Forest.
"You could have added at the bottom — Serebrianskyi Forest. That is, the editing, proofreading, and design approval of these books took place in the Serebrianskyi Forest near Kreminna, where now the dead occupiers lie and the living walk," said the soldier.
Literary activity distracts
Serhii adds that writing helps him distract himself.
"When I write, I can distract myself. From all of this. My working day is like every day in the film 'Groundhog Day.' Get up in the morning, check the drones, BC, coils, safety equipment at the position, walk through the personnel. When you have a minute, you sit down and switch gears a little: and from here, from Sloviansk, you start chasing the main character through the forests of the Carpathians with that serial killer," said the soldier.
