In memory of commander of assault group, former mayor of Uman Oleksandr Tsebrii
I’m going to Uman. I want to be in time to say goodbye to a true Ukrainian hero, Oleksandr Tsebrii.
A machine gun platoon commander, assault group commander, junior sergeant of the 58th Brigade, a year of continuous combat operations at zero line in the infantry, mayor of Uman for over six years, an outstanding exemplary citizen, warrior, outstanding Ukrainian...
He did me the honor of inviting me and involving me in the assault operation near Novodonetsk on July 24, which he led. At first, Sasha assigned me a place in his group, but two hours before the assault, when we were on the verge of launching the attack, he said that I would go with the holding force and evacuation.
I was there, watching the battle, saw the mortar bursts and heard the report: "Mayor - 300".
It was Oleksandr who had to be evacuated...
I spent the last day of Oleksandr Tsebrii's life with him. I talked to him, filmed him, he wanted his thoughts and his determination and confidence in his actions to be recorded.
The fact is that recently, Tsebrii's political enemy, People's Deputy Anton Yatsenko, organized an information campaign on the Internet, found some ignorant people who lied that Tsebrii was not fighting and not risking himself, that he had found a warm place in the war.
I can responsibly convey the opinion of the majority of the soldiers of the 2nd Rifle Battalion and the entire 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade - very few people risked themselves in the war as much as Oleksandr Tsebrii, call sign Mayor.
The most dangerous job in the war is to fight in holding forces, to keep positions at zero line, when the enemy is constantly hunting you, danger from all sides, drone drops, mortars, artillery. You have to build up your position unnoticed, strengthen it, but then the enemy will see you. If you don't fortify, the position will be destroyed and captured. And in the face of danger, not all soldiers try to dig, many just hide. But when Mayor came to the position, he worked and set an example for everyone. Once a mine hit a meter away from the dugout Sasha was building at zero line, and he was covered, but he dug out and continued working.
It is this kind of consolidation of positions that allows us to reduce losses and plan further offensive actions.
A soldier, and later a junior sergeant, Tsebrii was constantly on the front line, motivating people by example, bringing large batches of aid to the brigade, building materials to the positions, his contribution is enormous in ensuring that these two plantings held by the battalion remain ours. Even the drones used by the battalion's aerial reconnaissance were bought by Sasha - he raised money for his birthday, and it was he who provided the drones for our offensive operation.
Oleksandr Tsebrii was awarded the Order of Courage for personally capturing a Russian assault man. He rescued his wounded comrades several times, personally provided medical aid under fire and pulled them to the evacuation point.
But defensive battles were not enough for Tsebrii. He wanted to do everything possible to speed up our victory, and he formed an assault group in a machine gun platoon, prepared and led it to the assault.
Before the attack, Sasha said: "I have fought and lived so long, built so much in this village, that after the war I want to buy it and make a museum in memory of all the comrades we lost here." Now it is your museum as well...
The planting is ours. And thanks to the assault operation in which Oleksandr Tsebrii was killed, the soldiers of the 58th Infantry Brigade recaptured another planting, another kilometer of Ukrainian land.
This land is the most precious in the world, the land of Ukrainian patriots.
Now we are making a video of the last day and the last battle, the memory must be preserved.
On July 27, Uman bids farewell to Oleksandr Tsebrii. I'm going too, as well as a fighter from Sasha's platoon, to say goodbye to my friend Mayor on the central square...
In the photo: On 24 July, at the military line of concentration in the planting, for which Sasha and the 2nd Rifle Battalion had been fighting for 10 months, the enemy was a couple of kilometres away, and the time was a few hours before the assault.
Yurii Butusov, Censor. NET
