Artem Panchyk: "Dozens of body bags lie there. You take each one, unzip it, and see whether it’s your soldier or not"
Artem Panchyk holds two Orders For Courage. He is a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Since childhood, he had wanted to become a soldier. He studied at the Lyceum with Enhanced Military and Physical Training in the town of Tulchyn, Vinnytsia region, and later at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Academy of Ground Forces, Faculty of Combat Employment of the Troops. He fought in the infantry. Then he commanded a reconnaissance company, and subsequently became a deputy battalion commander.
– Why did you decide to join the military in the first place?
– My uncle, my mother’s brother, is a serviceman. He would regularly take my brother and me to Desna (a military training center – O.M.), where he was stationed. We got to ride in tanks and observe live-fire exercises. I liked it. I didn’t specifically want to be a tank crewman, but the whole thing really appealed to me.
– Is your uncle also fighting?
– Yes, since the very beginning, in 2014. He is now serving in the National Guard. He was wounded and burned inside a tank, but he keeps fighting.
– How did your parents react when they found out about your choice?
– They were fine with it. They always supported me. They said, "If you like it, go ahead. We’ll help you with everything."
– How did you end up at the front?
– After my training, I wanted to join a combat brigade. I dreamed of serving in the Marine Infantry. But during the assignment, I had to choose between Desna or the 1st Tank Brigade. I wasn’t really eager about the training center, so I picked the second option. There was an open position for a mechanized platoon commander. About two to three months after arriving, we were sent to the front, back then it was still the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone.
– At that time, in 2019, the situation was more or less stable. What did you see when you arrived in Donbas?
– We were positioned opposite Olenivka. There was no complete silence. The enemy carried out sabotage and reconnaissance actions, snipers were active, but I didn’t have any casualties under my command. Since I was young and inexperienced, at first, the political officer didn’t allow me to go to the frontlines. When he was absent or asleep, I quietly visited my soldiers. I even started taking night shifts—I stood guard duty.
– Were you scared?
– I was scared because my future company was stationed on our right flank, where there had been sniper casualties multiple times. Snipers were my greatest fear. When I looked through the thermal scope scanning the area, I didn’t stay still, I moved back and forth so the sniper couldn’t catch me.
But after a while, things were fine, I got the hang of it. Like I said, there weren’t many active combat actions then. Sometimes we made life a nightmare for them, sometimes they made life a nightmare for us.
– How long were you in the infantry?
– Three months. I was offered the position of reconnaissance company commander. Before that, the deputy brigade commander was conducting inspections at the positions. As I was later told, he probably saw that I was a specialist. I didn’t know I had been selected. At six in the morning, the battalion commander called me. He started to chew me out because he had received orders to bring me somewhere, but no one knew where or why yet. And he said to me: "You’re a mama’s boy! You’re scared!" He insulted me. But when I arrived, he was already smiling: "Oh, congratulations! You’re getting promoted. Maybe you want to stay with us? If so, I’ll talk to the brigade commander." I said, "After what I heard from you, I don’t want to serve in your unit anymore."
I talked with the personnel about my new position. Many tried to talk me out of it, saying that a reconnaissance company isn’t simple; it involves a lot of equipment, material responsibility, and a ton of paperwork. But I went ahead anyway.
When I arrived at the settlement of Spirne, a soldier greeted me: "Hey, kid, what position are you in?" He probably thought I was just a regular soldier because I’m young, short, and thin. I replied, "Reconnaissance company commander." He said, "Oh, sorry!" Everyone there didn’t take me very seriously at first. But I held a formation, talked to them properly, and said, "I understand that some of you are twice my age, but we’re here to work." I started focusing deeply on training the guys and weeded out some personnel from the company. Before the full-scale invasion, we went on rotations and trained constantly. We were also on missions, including aerial reconnaissance with the UAV platoon.
– Did you have a feeling back then that a full-scale Russian offensive was possible?
– Yes, definitely. We all thought: this didn’t just start for no reason. We were worried that the Russians would attack while we had too few people. Overall, it was a bit scary.
– Where was your company at the beginning of the invasion?
– We had just returned from the JFO zone. About a month before, we were warned. Our headquarters were located in a secret forest. We traveled there for meetings. They briefed us on what our actions should be. So, we were prepared.
At around 3 a.m. on February 24, 2022, the intelligence chief called me and said, "It’s probably started!" Something was dropped from a drone near the border with Chernihiv, and border guards were killed. We gathered. The strikes were becoming more frequent. We understood everything by then. Around five or six in the morning, our training building was hit. The windows were shattered, people were scared. But we had a plan, everyone knew their role. We received weapons and ammunition. Evacuation began; mechanics headed to the forest and trenches. One crew was assigned to cover the brigade’s command post. Half stayed in Honcharivske, the others went to Chernihiv. Things didn’t go entirely according to plan because everyone was confused. That’s when my first servicemen were killed—they were on a reconnaissance mission and ran into a Russian convoy.
Another group of mine captured the first "Tiger" vehicle, which we took to a repair shop at night. We took the wheels off our broken APC and installed them on it. It helped us a lot, both in transporting personnel and providing fire support.
Yet another combat group of mine also captured a trophy vehicle. At that time, someone from Chernihiv leadership announced there would be a reward for such equipment (I don’t remember how much). My guys captured an APC, which they handed over to another unit since there were few combat vehicles then. But as far as I know, they never received the money.
The intelligence chief and I found an IFV. There was no direct contact with the enemy at that time. We approached, saw that the fuel tank was punctured. We patched it up, stuffed it with various rags. That’s how we "snatched" another combat vehicle, which later carried out missions for a long time.
– When did you have direct contact with the enemy?
– We never had direct contact at a distance of 10 meters. Let me tell you what happened then. Major General Nikoliuk and his team went to Yahidne. They came under fire. The driver was killed. The others escaped. He tasked us with conducting an evacuation. At that time, the National Guard "Varta" crew was involved. We got ready and set up weapons. Our brigade didn’t have any drones then. There is only one "Leleka," the artillery has, I believe, a "Furiia," and I have a "Mavic" that Serhiy Prytula sent earlier. We roughly planned the operation. As a pilot, I coordinate the guys’ actions. First, I conduct reconnaissance, study who and where they are, and then we proceed with the mission.
Nikoliuk went first, followed by my guys from the reconnaissance company. I reported that there was an enemy observation post ahead. The major general, as I was told, immediately killed two Russians stationed there. But probably before that, they managed to report that our forces were advancing. The guys evacuated the driver and began the evacuation. Then I saw four enemy vehicles starting to move out. I gave the command to the National Guard "Varta" crew: "Forward, forward!" They moved onto the road, which was a straight highway, the entrance to Yahidne. Thanks to our coordination, two enemy combat vehicles were destroyed, a third was damaged, and the fourth fled. Then mortar fire began. I looked and saw my technician fall to the ground about ten meters from me, holding his head and screaming. I realized he was wounded. I ran over. The wound was small, a minor injury, but still. I pulled him to the "Tiger." The intelligence chief and I wrapped his head. Then there were more strikes. I heard someone shouting. I looked and saw someone lying under a birch tree about 70 meters away. I thought, if I went there now, I might get killed too. But I ran anyway. It was the brigade commander’s driver, a big guy, around 100 kilograms, with serious injuries to his back and legs. I started dragging him, but realized I wouldn’t make it all the way. I called for help. Whether it was a border guard or a National Guard member (I don’t remember exactly), someone helped pull him to the vehicle. They quickly provided medical aid. The intelligence chief and I began evacuating, as the brigade commander’s driver was screaming loudly. We headed toward Chernihiv. The "Tiger" doesn’t go over 50 kilometers per hour. Then we saw a vehicle blocking the road. There were some men inside. We explained the situation, we had a seriously wounded. They understood. It turned out they had been transported by a taxi driver who had delivered the wounded (both survived and are now healthy). We then returned back.
– When the enemy retreated from Chernihiv region, where were you deployed?
– To Cherkasy. There, we replenished personnel, equipment, reconnaissance assets, weapons, and so on. We were supposed to depart on April 10. At that time, my daughter was just born. My wife said, "Come and at least pick her up from the maternity hospital." I replied, "How? There’s a war! How can I go?" But my wife asked one of my subordinates, who was in contact with the brigade commander, to get permission for me. I didn’t know about this. Then the battalion commander called me: "Oh, Panchyk, congratulations! Why don’t you want to pick up your child from the hospital?" I said, "I’ll see later. War." He said, "Take the vehicle and go." I left at night, spent five hours with my wife and baby, then returned to Cherkasy. From there, we headed to Zaporizhzhia.
– Tell us about the war story that left the strongest impression on you.
– We were sent to the Velyka Novosilka direction, operating both as infantry and reconnaissance. One time, I was driving with my commander from an adjacent unit we were coordinating with. Suddenly, I hear over the radio from our servicemen: "We have wounded! Help us!" They were in a tree line, and only heavy tracked vehicles could reach it. We were driving a Peugeot 1.9 diesel, not exactly a reliable machine. Without thinking too much, I said to my lieutenant, "Well, shall we give it a try?" He goes, "Let’s do it!" Somehow, we made it all the way to the zero line, to the very edge of the position. And, as expected, everything there had already been leveled to the ground. We started searching quickly. The guys had hidden in a dugout. They were afraid to come out, every time they tried, bombs were dropped on them. We got lucky, this time it didn’t happen. We pulled out two wounded. My commander carried one on his shoulders. The other one, a heavy guy, around 110 kilograms, we carried together. We loaded him into the trunk. Barely made it out of there. Delivered them to the stabilization point. One of the wounded told me, "After the war, I’m hiring you as my driver." I was in a rush, so at times I was doing 120–140 kilometers per hour. I just wanted to get them there fast, I didn’t really think about how they were bouncing around in the trunk. I think he was a little mad about it. But later he called me and thanked me for saving his life.
One of the hardest moments was when I had to detach my men—assign them to other units. We were in recovery, while some assault and clearance groups were sent forward. Then I got the message: "Looks like three of yours are KIA." I rushed over and went to identify them. We searched all over Velyka Novosilka and nearby villages but couldn’t find them. They told me the bodies had probably been taken to Kurakhove, where the morgue was. I went there and asked, "Where are mine?" They handed me the keys to a huge barn-like building. I opened it—you can imagine the smell. Several dozen black body bags lay there. You take each one, unzip it, and see whether it’s your soldier or not. Some can’t even be recognized. It was rough… I didn’t find them that time. Later, already in Velyka Novosilka. I made that trip for identifications more than once...
There were many different stories, especially related to Russian offensives. Sometimes, up to 40 enemy vehicles would come at us. It wasn’t just my unit defending. Once, everyone at the frontline position was killed. The position needed to be retaken. No one really wanted to go there. So, they called in the Georgians. They were ready to conduct the clearance operation. They said, "We’ll need 15 rounds per bunker, a tank platoon, and so on." We listened to it all. But who’s going to give us 15 rounds for one bunker?! Back then, the entire unit might get 20 rounds per day and here, they want 15 for just one bunker! Without much thought, Major Stefurak (now a lieutenant colonel), a very combat-ready officer and I, along with four of my servicemen, went there in the evening. A drone accompanied us. Fortunately, there were no Russians there, so it went well. But you know, going in without knowing who’s inside is a bit scary. We cleared the position, recovered our "KIA," and restored the position. New people entered the position afterward.
– You mentioned that a drone was guiding you. Were you already actively using them?
– That’s exactly when we began effectively employing "Mavics" for reconnaissance and fire adjustment, as well as for strikes. The Russians advance, we engage them. They suffer casualties and injuries. Others are afraid to move forward.
– How were you promoted to deputy battalion commander?
– The brigade commander decided to promote me. Then he also found out I wasn’t trained as a reconnaissance specialist. He said, "Wow, how did you endure more than three years like that? Let’s make you deputy battalion commander." Of course, it was hard to say goodbye to my guys, but it had to be done. I was appointed deputy commander of a rifle battalion. Coming from the reconnaissance company, where we had Hummers, Lelekas, APCs, IFVs, and modern weapons, this unit had old KAMAZ trucks, Urals, Shysharykys (GAZ-66 - ed.note), Bobiks (UAZ 469 - ed.note), UAZs—no armor, and untrained personnel. It was tough. Even though I was the deputy battalion commander, I was responsible for combat training. I gathered everyone, we talked, and started preparing thoroughly. Our rifle battalion was held in reserve, but some companies were deployed to combat positions to support adjacent units.
At that time, the enemy was advancing. We suffered some losses. I was ordered to go to the zero line to provide support and boost morale and combat spirit. No questions asked! I went out at night with two reconnaissance soldiers from the recon platoon. We spent time there with our brothers-in-arms. I experienced what enemy aviation feels like—it really worked us over.
I went to the very zero line more than five times. No one else from the battalion headquarters did that. Later, when the battalion commander changed, I visited the positions with the new commander, with whom, by the way, I had studied at the academy. That’s how we fought.
– When and why did you demobilize?
– Due to family circumstances, in January of last year. I was discharged to the reserve. It’s not for long that I have to return to service again.
– Your wife serves too, right?
– She returned to service after maternity leave. Also a servicemember. She started serving a year before me, as a combat medic in a medical company.
– What were your impressions when you returned to civilian life? How did you adapt?
– Returning to civilian life after the war was challenging. At first, I felt lost and out of place, as if the whole world around me had changed while I remained the same. It was hard to adjust to everyday worries and the pace of life, to ordinary tasks that used to seem trivial. But gradually, I found new rhythms. I learned to appreciate small joys and discover something new every day that brings satisfaction.
Overall, if I compare what I see now to 2022, there are two major differences. Back then, people were ready to die and kill for their country; everyone was patriotic, cooking food for us, supporting us. Now it’s different. The war has dragged on, and people are exhausted, especially from constantly living in fear of rockets or drones striking, worrying about their children, suffering losses of relatives, acquaintances, and simply those who die in the war or from attacks.
You know, maybe not everyone has to fight. Not everyone has to be a hero. But everyone should remember and appreciate. And at least once a day, stop for a moment and think: who do I owe the fact that I can simply live today?
– On May 21, you had a street confrontation with a group of police officers. Tell us what happened?
– Around 11 p.m., my wife’s brother, who was driving my car, was stopped by the police because a license plate light wasn’t working. They started checking documents, insurance, and so on. He called me and asked me to bring the vehicle registration certificate. At that time, my child was sick, and I was about to go to the pharmacy. But I told him I’d be there soon. I arrived and saw him start to run away, with the police chasing him. I had no idea what was going on. He didn’t get into the car but moved along the road, away from me. I was confused. Stressed. My mind went into overdrive! I have PTSD (and I have a certificate to prove it). I couldn’t make sense of anything. Were those even police officers? I didn’t see any documents or talk to them. I drove around them, honked my horn, and started chasing after my relative. He got into the car and said, "Let’s go! I’ll explain everything later." We drove into the courtyards, and a police car followed us. No one shouted through a loudspeaker to stop or anything. The flashing lights only came on at the very end (you can see it on the video). My relative got out of the car. I started to turn around. There was a dead end. It was night, and you couldn’t see anything, no streetlights. The police car’s headlights were blinding me. What was I supposed to see in my mirrors?! I wanted to make a wider turn. Suddenly, I hear someone shouting. A police officer ran between my car and the wall, where I had slightly pinned him. I immediately put the car in reverse and started backing up (this is also on the video). He smashed my window, I don’t know why. He struck me with his left arm (using his elbow) and shattered the glass into tiny pieces. Here’s the question: if a person is trapped between a car and a building, can they really deliver such a strong blow despite their injuries? Also, the case files claim that the elbow injury was caused by me running over the victim, but that’s not true, he inflicted it on himself!
– What happened next?
– More than ten police vehicles arrived and surrounded me. They were armed. One officer jerked me by the shoulder. They didn’t show that video in court, though. So I said, "Let me make a call." But my phone had fallen somewhere in the car. I wanted to warn my wife about the situation. No one let me call. They answered rudely. Later, they calmed down a bit. Investigators arrived.
– How did it all end?
– I was detained for 72 hours. I sat in a cell as if I were a dangerous criminal.
– Did you tell them you’re a servicemember?
– One lady checked the records and said, "Oh, he’s a major." I confirmed it. But it didn’t make any difference.
– There has already been a court hearing. What is the current stage of the case?
– There was one hearing to decide on preventive measures—it was house arrest. We filed an appeal because I couldn’t even take my child to kindergarten or to the hospital as needed, at least once a week. You know how kids get sick. Fortunately, starting Monday, they granted permission, so yesterday (June 18 – O.M.) I took my daughter for the first time. I have half an hour each way. Otherwise, I’m confined at home 24/7. House arrest lasts until July 22. They’re still gathering case materials. You know, I feel sorry the police officer was injured, but I never intended to do anything like that on purpose. It was dark, I was in shock, turning around, so that situation happened.
– Have you been assigned any examinations? Specifically, by a psychologist or psychiatrist?
– No, nothing like that. No one has sent me to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
– How are you doing mentally?
– I don’t feel like doing anything. I constantly think about the war. My wife says I talk in my sleep. I dream about "KIA" in body bags, I told you about the identifications. I often reflect on why things happened the way they did, whether anyone could have been saved, and what exactly needed to be done at the front. These thoughts are with me all the time.
Olha Moskaliuk, Censor.NET
Photos provided by the interviewee
