Taras Sokolyk, commander of 10th Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss": "After whole day of assaults, we communicated with gestures because we could not hear anything - everyone was shell-shocked"
The 24-year-old soldier, wounded and shell-shocked, repeatedly forced the enemy to flee during assaults on our positions near Bakhmut.
The video of our fighter holding the line almost alone was sent to me while he and his group were still in position. "'Everyone there is wounded, some are killed, and he is performing miracles,' they commented on what the drone showed me. The video clearly showed the ground bursting not far from the small shelter of our group of fighters. A helmet was flying off the head of a fighter who was shooting at the enemy at the time. But he doesn't even pay attention to it. The following shots show how either the same Edelweiss guy or another fighter pushes back so powerfully that the five Russians simply run away.
This battle lasted all day. And late in the evening, we received unexpected news: everyone in this group was wounded and killed. There was not an uninjured soldier left. And the guy who fought so desperately was killed... I still wanted to know his name. I asked to know his name. After searching and clarifying, I was told: "This assaultman is alive. Wounded, but alive".
I really wanted to find and talk to this guy. So I waited patiently for him to undergo treatment and rehabilitation. And finally, we met with him. Taras - that's his name - steps back into the ranks, he has returned to the brigade and continues to defend the country. During the conversation, we discussed whether he was "born for war" and agreed that he was definitely born to win. He remembers the day when his group was endlessly assaulted very clearly.
"THERE WERE ONLY THREE OF US LEFT WHO COULD FIGHT."
- It was July last year. We had intercepts that the enemy was planning to assault our positions in the direction of Berestove. To counter this, we formed two reconnaissance units. I was in charge of the first, and Synbad was in charge of the second. We were supposed to make an assault, but the enemy launched a counteroffensive two days earlier. While we were marching to our positions from which we were supposed to attack, we lost one position. Another was about to be lost.
We were on one side of the railway track, and the enemy was on the other. There were six of us. We had to cross the railway track. That is, we had to actually get surrounded because the enemy's position called Kashchei was a hundred meters to your right, Kum was 75 meters to your left, and Zozulia-2 was 30-40 meters away. We crossed the railway track. At that time, we already had one dead man. A tank shell hit him... There was nothing left of the man...
When we entered Zozulia-1, we saw wounded infantry. We helped them. I realized that I had a task to take Zozulia-2 and, if possible, to assault Kum. Three positions had to be defended. I already knew that Synbad was wounded in the leg in the second group. And another of his fighters was wounded. Both were combat-ineffective - they could not walk. In fact, there were three of us left who could fight. It was a tough situation.
We went there at 11 or 12 o'clock in the afternoon. We stayed there until ten in the evening. It was only in the dark that we could safely withdraw. And all this time, a tank and cannon artillery were firing at us. And there was almost no place to hide. Only in a small trench. But it was there. This is already a plus.
- Did you have enough ammunition to hold the field until the evening?
- Everyone who went with me had enough ammunition and grenades. We also carried ammunition in our backpacks. We immediately agreed that we had to save ammunition. We reached Zozulia-2 when an enemy grenade exploded in the air above us. There were guys in front of me - they were not hit. I was only shell-shocked. The fragments hit me on the shoulder. But I was lucky. The shoulder was broken once, and there is a plate in it. Everything went through the plate. Later, when they took an X-ray, they saw that the metal was bent.
"WHILE FIGHTING BACK THE ENEMY, WE ALSO SANG СHERVONA RUTA (RED RUE)"
- So the Russians were running away from you being wounded?
-And more than once! We were almost surrounded on Zozulia-1. Once they made a wave of attrition, and then another. We fought a close battle - 10 meters to the enemy, seven... We were throwing grenades at each other. We were exhausted. And the third wave came. "At least a smoke break," the guys dreamed. "Smoke," I said. I took a grenade, ran forward and threw it screaming: "You must all be eliminated."
- Were you also shouting at the Russians?
- We also sang "Chervona Ruta" (Red Rue). Our wounded sang. We brought him to a more protected place. He suggested: "Although I am of little help now, let me at least load you ammunition rounds." The guys fired back and threw empty magazine cases at him. One of them hit him on the nose. He was offended: "No. I changed my mind about loading. You seem to want to kill me. I'd rather sing." Everyone followed him: "Сonfess to me..."
It was funny when we evacuated him. We waited until twilight. We put him on a stretcher. We climbed over the railway track. And there were pits from the FABs. And we all fell into that pit. Guys, the 300th was carried by them. All four of us fell on him. Sinbad shouts: "I will teach you medicine! You'll be bone it up on сonstantly. Why did you turn me over?" We turned him over three times. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer, got up and walked on his own.
We withdrew in the dark. Two more wounded were found at the positions. And in my group, there were two wounded and one dead. So we decided to retreat to the other side of the railway track and gain a foothold there. We held the position for half a day. In fact, three soldiers did it. There were a lot of run-ups on us - about 60 people took turns attacking us, running away and returning with new, fresh ones. They worked in teams of 6-8 people.
We made life a nightmare for them there. And with drones as well. And I put two dashes on my AKM because I injured two machine gunners.
- You realized that you were in a semi-surrounding. Were you not afraid?
-When we went in there and a tank, a mortar, and Grads were firing at us, I began to doubt whether we would be able to get out. I had a feeling that we would all stay there. Brinish tears welled in my eyes.
- Where did you get the strength to stick it out?
-We talked to the guys. We cheered ourselves up. We remembered the good things. I was the senior of the group there - everyone was looking at me. Once I taught a friend - never to get the jitters. And when you do, look at a more experienced person and repeat what they do. I knew that if I lost my fighting spirit, the guys would too.
"IN THE EVENING WE HAD A LUCKY BREAD - WE FOUND A PACK OF CIGARETTES IN THE TRENCH'
- You were not only wounded but also shell-shocked...
- Yes, the symptoms appeared immediately because a tank from the right side, from Berestove, was firing at us. I could not hear anything in my right ear. We were hiding in the trenches. One of the shells hit about 20 meters from our hiding place, and there was also a rough flooring of sawn timber above it. The logs all blew apart. One of them hit my armor from the back. It was as if that log had gone under my armor. I was floundering like a turtle, not realizing what had happened. I could not get out. My comrades dug me out. And then I realized that I was completely deaf. Most of those who were with me were shell-shocked. In the late afternoon, we were already communicating with gestures because we could not hear anything. But in the evening we had a lucky break - we found a pack of cigarettes in the trench. It was a fairy tale. A jackpot that indicated to us that we had to win.
I was treated for a long time because I had problems with my ear - my eardrum was ruptured. It had to be renewed. And shell shocks come with a price, they are all always beginning to tell.
- How long have you been in the army?
- I've been serving since 2018 when I turned 18 and signed the contract. I wanted to serve for a long time. My whole family is military. My mother worked at a border checkpoint, my grandfather served, and my brother is an officer.
- Why did you choose the 10th Brigade?
-I knew the brigade's chief of staff, Mykola Borysovych. When he came home, he always told interesting military stories, so I wanted to serve in this brigade. At first, I signed a contract in a headquarters defense platoon, not a combat platoon, and six months later I was transferred to a reconnaissance platoon.
- When did you first go to war?
- It was Zholobok, we were standing in the direction of Sieverodonetsk. I was scared. I didn't know what war and the army were, I was scared. But over time, I got used to it. There were small distances between us and the enemy. I was very worried about my comrades, that I would miss them. But every day the same thing happens. And you get used to everything. You can tell by the sound, by the enemy's actions, what threatens you and what does not.
- Did you have any military clashes during that period?
- Mostly artillery shelling. Sometimes they shot from the trenches in our direction. It was a defensive war.
-Did you realize that the war would move into another phase?
-Once we were sitting in an observation post and discussed that the war cannot be so defensive for a long time, it cannot be like this all the time. Back in 2019, we talked about this near Toretsk. To be honest, I thought the war would freeze, and politicians would come to an agreement. But one of my comrades-in-arms said there would be an offensive.
At the beginning of the attack, I was a sergeant major. For some time I was not at the front line like the other guys. But I tried to provide for them as much as possible. We were based in Malyn. From there, our fighters were emplaced to the combat areas. And even before the fighting, it became clear that a completely different war had come. And Su fighters were flying. And FAB-200s were hit...
I was appointed commander of the unit here, in the Donetsk direction. And I have already seen everything with my own eyes. The first assaults I took part in were on Berestove and Spirne.
- How does a fighter become an assaultman? What gives you confidence?
-I want to live! I want to have children and travel. This keeps me going, gives me strength to defend the country. Everyone has to do their useful work.
- But you're from Chernivtsi...
-Yes, but Donbas is also my land. I want to live all over Ukraine. I would like to see Donetsk, Sievierodonetsk. I really want to come to Mariupol someday. It's a beautiful city... It was.
Who should assault and fight? If we all give up and go home, nothing will happen... As long as there is an enemy, we have to fight. In fact, anyone can become a fighter.
In war, it is still very important to listen to your intuition. I once had a dream after which I asked the commanders: "I'm not going to assault this time, the next time for sure. But not today. Something is bothering me." I was replaced by another person. Everything went well. You have to trust your inner instincts.
-What do you miss about the war?
-Those who were not born for war! I have a lot of friends at home who used to say: if necessary, I will go to war... Now they are needed, but for some reason they do not go. They do nothing useful, they don't volunteer, they don't help. There is no efficiency factor from them... They are exactly what is needed. Because if they were not fighting, they would be digging, bringing shells... And the excuses I heard from them are strange: I'm afraid for my psyche... And you're not afraid for the country? This is not clear to me.
Violetta Kirtoka, Censor. NET
