Vadym, 155th Brigade Unmanned Systems Pilot, call sign Hurman: "We went into Pokrovsk for 16 days, but stayed there for 80 – most of that time encircled."

Author: Violetta Kirtoka

A 44-year-old pharmaceutical company representative joined the Territorial Defense Forces in 2022 and has been continuously defending Ukraine ever since. He took part in the 2023 counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia direction and has been deployed in the Pokrovsk sector since late 2024.

He and his fellow soldiers withdrew from the city at a time when it was already swarming with enemy forces. During the withdrawal, one of the fighters stepped on a "lepetstok" mine and sustained severe injuries. He was given first aid and, taking turns, they transported him to a safe location on a construction cart.

When Vadym mentioned the figure of 80 days spent at positions in Pokrovsk, without rotation and without any possibility of evacuating to a safe place, I asked how he feels about these so-called "records": 144 days on position, half a year in trenches without relief...He answered, choosing his words carefully: "When I see these numbers in the headlines of some outlets, it feels as if we’re competing for some kind of record, who can last longer. In reality, no fighter who ends up staying on a position for a long time would ever choose to take part in these ‘competitions’ of their own free will. These figures point to one thing only: the situation at the front is extremely difficult, and sometimes infantry units cannot be reached for months, by any means, in any way. I understand very well what a person feels in such a situation, how they hope and wait to be pulled out of a place the enemy is desperate to reach, but where neither reinforcements nor assistance can get through. Let’s be honest. We hear about successful withdrawals from positions. But how many guys stayed in those trenches forever, after spending months there… I’m among those who were lucky, those who were pulled out of a city already occupied by the enemy. Two UAV crews made it out. But one of our crews, three fighters, went missing during an attempted withdrawal. We know nothing for certain about their fate."

Vadym shows a video that the guys recorded during the withdrawal, already after reaching a relatively safer treeline. They are all thin, dirty, overgrown. And they all have the same eyes. I can’t even describe them. There is no word that can capture the state of a person who fights the enemy every day without any certainty that they themselves won’t be left behind in that city…

Vadym’s story is a step-by-step path of a true Warrior, from a civilian to a fighter who knows how to strike back at the enemy, remain loyal to orders and to his brothers-in-arms, and bring our Victory closer. Because he longs to return to his family, his wife and two sons.

SUMY, HOME CITY

- Why is your callsign "Hurman"?

- "I started out in the Territorial Defense Forces and have been in service since February 24, 2022," the man replies. "Later, the Territorial Defense was transferred into the Armed Forces, and, roughly speaking, all that chaos was being put in order. All the guys from Sumy were gathered together and the 15th Separate Rifle Battalion was formed. With that battalion, we deployed to the border of the Sumy region with Russia, we set up positions, dug trenches, built dugouts, and lived in the forest. And whenever we sat down to eat, I always paid close attention to making sure the table looked nice (he smiles), that everything wasn’t just thrown together any old way. When I cook, say, shashlik, it has to come with lavash, different herbs, I add all sorts of touches to make it look good… The guys who watched all this ended up giving me the callsign ‘Hurman.’"

- Who were you in civilian life, what did you do for a living?

- I worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative. My wife has the relevant education, and, following her example, I got into pharmaceutical sales around 2011. I worked with companies such as Teva, Xantis Pharma, formerly Actavis, and the Synevo laboratory network. I was satisfied with everything and wasn’t looking for anything else. But everything changed in a single moment. I turned on the TV, my mom called… At first, I couldn’t believe a full-scale offensive had begun.

- Didn't you think it was possible?

- I didn’t believe it until the very last day. I didn’t think the Russians would dare launch a full-scale invasion, and I didn’t think they would underestimate Ukraine to such an extent, considering that our Armed Forces have been taking shape since 2014 and that we already had combat-ready units.

- Did you immediately join the Territorial Defense on the morning of February 24?

- Yes. I didn’t even think twice about it. Godmother of our child asked my wife: ‘How did Vadym end up leaving?’ My wife said, ‘How should I know? He turned on the TV and half an hour later he was already dressed and out the door.’ I called some guys I knew who had served during the ATO and asked, ‘Lyokha, what do I do?’ He told me where to go and showed me where to get weapons. I asked about the military enlistment office, it was closed.

- Was it loud in Sumy on February 24?

- Not really. Columns of enemy equipment passed through Trostianets, and in Okhtyrka, they were met by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Okhtyrka, in particular, slowed the Russians down significantly. In Sumy itself, it seemed there were hardly any military units at all. Those who signed up for the Territorial Defense took the last weapons that remained in storage. We only got RPGs about two weeks after the invasion began; before that, it was mostly basic assault rifles. I was issued a light machine gun. By the way, there were a lot of provocateurs driving around the city, filming things. They filmed us, the Territorial Defense, on their phones, trying to provoke us… We formed a mobile unit and operated in two vehicles. The calls varied, but most were false alarms, someone spotted some markings somewhere, then everyone started seeing sabotage and reconnaissance groups everywhere, and kindergartens supposedly started being ‘seized’…

In the photo: During patrols in Sumy in March 2022. Vadym is in the center.

THE ZAPORIZHZHIA COUNTEROFFENSIVE

"We spent only about a month in the Territorial Defense Forces, and then transferred to the Armed Forces, to the 15th Separate Rifle Battalion, which later became part of the newly formed 117th Brigade within the 10th Army Corps," Hurnam continues. "The brigade was preparing for the counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Once our battalion was integrated into the 117th Brigade, we immediately went to training in the Czech Republic, and from there deployed to the Zaporizhzhia sector."

In the photo: The 15th Battalion during training in the Czech Republic.

We were moving in behind the 47th Brigade, which went in first. We advanced closer to Mala Tokmachka and thought we would be left there. We started digging in when the order came to move out. Back then, columns still moved in this formation: four IFVs following the tanks. That’s how we were taken through Mala Tokmachka and onto the battlefield.

- Towards Robotyne?

- Yes. Robotyne was slightly off to the side, we were advancing in its direction.

Our column was spotted immediately and came under fire. Our commander got a bit disoriented: he drove all four IFVs into a treeline to camouflage them, while the tank was left at the intersection. That’s when we were hit hard for the first time, by artillery and self-propelled guns. They pounded that treeline with everything they had… We made it through, and after some time we moved on. The scene I saw then is etched in my memory forever. We drove out onto an open field. We were riding on top of a IFV. It was rumbling, and I realized that the field was silent, everything was dead, scorched, burned out. There were no insects, no mosquitoes. It was quiet, and it was terrifying.

We even got lost along the way. I remember the company commander arriving, showing a map to the platoon commander and asking, "Did you remember it?", "Yes, I did." The company commander folded the map, and they drove off. Our platoon commander, Artem Sorokin, a real pro, one of the best I’ve see, managed to lead us out of that field. Eventually, we found a treeline where there was a temporary makeshift command post and where the company commander was located. We dismounted quickly, and the IFVs drove off. We took up positions. We were told we would spend the night there and move out for an assault the next day, advancing on the trenches. That night, the treeline came under fire as well and not just there, but everywhere. A massive amount of weapons was in use, including from our side. HIMARS were firing… everything imaginable was flying. At night, the sky was glowing. We woke up in the morning to a light drizzle. I had no raincoat, nothing, I'd even forgotten my entrenching tool to dig in. The foxhole I got was tiny, and by dawn the rain started… I remember thinking: what did I do to deserve this?

- Wet, muddy, without a shovel…

- And on top of that, I was exhausted! And everyone else was too. Artem, our platoon commander, gathered us and said, "Guys, we need to cross 650 meters of open ground. Everything is flying there, but we have to make it across. What do you say?" I replied, "Let’s talk it through among ourselves first. Whatever decision we make, that’s what we’ll do." No one said either yes or no. It was clear that none of us had any real desire to sprint 650 meters across open terrain. Then the company commander came over and said, "Guys, I understand everything." What I liked about him was that there was none of that "I order you! Run! Forward!" Instead, he said, "I understand everything. I’ll do everything possible for you. A drone will be flying overhead, I’ll cover you with this and that. But we have to go." There were 12 of us and everyone agreed.

- Were you all from the Sumy region?

- Yes, all of us were from the Territorial Defense. We moved out, and mortar fire opened on us immediately. We hit the ground. We somehow dashed those 650 meters so fast that I don’t even remember how. We’re already there, and Artem shouts, ‘The trenches should be on the right!’ but they were on our left. We didn’t have time to look for trenches on the right, so we jumped into the ones on the left. Two squads were moving in, first one, then the second. And one of our guys immediately set off an anti-personnel mine. He was a very athletic guy, and somehow managed to leap away. Still, he was hit a bit. That was our first "WIA."

- His leg, his foot, was it blown off?

- No, it was just shrapnel wounds. Everything happened so fast. I hear the blast, the sharp crack of the mine, people shouting… The mines were right inside the trenches, the Russians had mined them and then pulled back. The wounded man was evacuated. We halted. Artem said, ‘No one moves forward until the sappers arrive.’ After some time, the combat engineers came and slow demining began, because a large number of anti-personnel mines were discovered, I honestly don’t know how our two squads made it through. The sappers moved ahead along the trench, and we followed behind them.

Then the assaults began. To keep it short: we ran into their strongpoint with a machine gun. For the first time, I was fired at by a heavy machine gun, directly at me, because I was covering an evacuation group and had climbed up onto the trench edge… I hear Artem give the order: "Hurman, take a look over there." I rose slightly, heard a click, and DShK rounds flew past me. I dropped down, thinking maybe it was a mistake, that they weren’t aiming specifically at me, just sweeping the area. I decided to check again. I decided to check again. I stood up and another round flew right past me.

That’s how we kept pushing forward until we ran straight into their strongpoint. Whether we found them or they were waiting for us, I don’t know. A machine gun opened up on us, and our entire group hit the ground immediately. We started assaulting it; they threw grenades at us, then we threw grenades back. Long story short, we burned that strongpoint down, ammo cooking off, everything exploding. It was wild. They started pulling back, and a small-arms firefight broke out.

We had so many people… Looking back, I’m amazed at how many fighters went in. You don’t see numbers like that now. The trenches were packed with people. Our 2nd platoon moved in first, then the 1st platoon followed; another element of the 1st platoon provided cover, and the 3rd platoon was assigned to evacuation. Everything was fairly well organized—clean, almost textbook. The 2nd company also moved up; before our assault, they were positioned along the line to provide covering fire.

We were preparing for the next assault, and Artem was gathering those who were ready to go. We were standing there when one of our guys didn’t exactly pass out but he showed symptoms typical after a concussion. I recognized it immediately. He started staggering, I grabbed him, and together with another fighter we took him to the medics. We had barely returned when a heavy mortar barrage began, it was their positions, they knew the coordinates. The rounds were landing right on the parapet; some of them didn’t detonate. Panic broke out, chaos, everyone started scattering. I see that Sania, our sergeant, has been seriously concussed. We grab him and start dragging him, he’s heavy… And right in front of me there’s a soldier on their knees, a blond with long hair. I turn and it’s a girl. I ask her, "What are you doing here?" She says, "I’m a medic with the 2nd company," I think of the 46th Brigade. Also from Sumy. She was holding her arm. I ask, "Are you okay?", "Yes." Later I found out that she was killed that same day… So young. I don’t understand why girls were sent there at all…

While we were dragging Sania to evacuation, a mortar round hit the group that had stayed in the trench. That’s where our assaults ended, because out of everyone who had agreed to go in, only me and Vitalii Pashkov, the guy who helped me pull the sergeant to the medics, were left uninjured. All the others were wounded, lightly or severely. We were focused on evacuating the wounded. Some people started pulling back, panic set in. I won’t say I was fully psychologically prepared for what I saw, but something inside me held me together and allowed me to stay clear-headed, without panicking. That was our first deployment in the Zaporizhzhia direction. It lasted six days. What I’ve told you is the short version, there were many more stories like that.

- After those six days when you came out, didn’t you ever think, "Screw all this, I’ve got to find some way to get out of here… I’m not a soldier"?

- I wasn’t thrilled about any of it. But… Afterwards, a lot of guys submitted reports citing "moral and psychological reasons." Many of them were genuinely in shock. I didn’t file one, and neither did another kid, Sania, he didn’t make it; a month ago he was declared missing in action. He transferred into the 155th with me. I don’t judge people, it’s a normal reaction for a sane human being.

- And why didn’t you write such a report?

- I don’t know. Seriously, I don’t know. Not that I felt ready for everything… But I didn’t write one.

- After some time, did you go on assault again?

- Artem, our platoon commander, had taken part in combat either in 2014–2015 or in 2015–2016. He came to the full-scale war on his own initiative. He lived with us permanently at the positions. The entire momentum of our battalion rested on him. I remember the 2nd company moving into positions with its commander. And our company commander asked that commander to allow Artem to take charge, so as not to offend the company commander by having a platoon commander give orders and he said, "I don’t mind." Artem was a very good commander. We all trusted him immensely.

I remember lying in a tent, we were living in a treeline at the time—when Artem tugged at my leg: "Vadym, get up." — "Where to?" — "Get dressed." And he walked off. That was our second deployment. Along with Artem went the deputy company commander, callsign "Hornet," the commander of the 3rd company… In other words, we had a semi-officer lineup. The terrain had completely changed: the trenches were smashed to pieces, I didn’t recognize them at all. There were already many "KIA" and "WIA" casualties. We were operating in parallel with the assault troops of the 46th Brigade; our task was to cover them during the assault. Something didn’t work out for them. We were hit, we returned fire, and a small-arms firefight broke out… They somehow calculated us in a very basic way—they saw one or two men step out, while, if I remember correctly, eight of us were moving in. The treeline occupied by the Russians ran parallel to ours.

When we reached the dugouts, Artem laid out the situation: what we were doing, how we would move in, and that we were covering the 46th Brigade. They would begin the assault, we would move in, dig in quickly, and provide cover. So we went to dig in, trying to scrape out something in that "asphalt-hard" ground. And that’s when we were spotted. One or two men stepped out, and from the other side I heard automatic fire and single shots directed at us. I hear our machine gunner start responding, and the entire group opened fire in that direction. They figured out exactly where everyone was, and then they hit us with AGS fire so hard that I’ll remember it for the rest of my life… The AGS fired at least two full belts at us.

In the photo: A shot taken during assaults in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Vadym is second from the right.

- Did everyone make it out unharmed?

- Yes. I had a small foxhole and lay flat in it, while everything above me was flying and whistling… Artem gave the order to pull back because the 46th Brigade’s assault never happened—I don’t know why. So, essentially, our time there turned out to be pointless.

They fired at us, and we moved out. Mortars were zeroed in on the area, and if we had stayed, nothing would have been left of us. We returned to the dugout—it was barely a 200-meter walk. Then they started pounding us again; a tank was engaging us, and drones began buzzing overhead. They tried for a long time to smoke us out of those dugouts. There were guys from the 117th Brigade there. Before we arrived, they had seven "three-hundreds"; one "WIA" remained, he lay there with us, spent the night with us…

- What happened to your commander, Artem?

- He is listed as missing in action. They were hit by tank fire. Most likely, he was struck by shrapnel… After that, the enemy moved into the area where Artem had been and took full control. That’s where Sania Huk was killed, burned in a trench, along with other attached fighters… Seven were killed in total. There were also two or three "WIA" who managed to get out.

80 DAYS IN POKROVSK

- "In December 2024, I transferred to the 155th Brigade," Hurman says. "Our company commander from the 117th moved to the 155th as a battalion commander and brought along several people, those who wanted to go. The brigade went for training in France, but we arrived directly in Pokrovsk, after the unit had already moved in. I transferred here as a UAV operator and trained to fly here."

- Why did you decide to learn to fly?

- Here, around Pokrovsk, I realized that the war has changed radically, it’s a war in the air, a war from the air. Technology doesn’t stand still; everything keeps moving forward. And the war, unfortunately, does too.

Our area of responsibility was near the settlement of Shevchenko, while we operated out of Pokrovsk. Our tasks included reconnaissance, artillery fire adjustment, searching for possible enemy groups that had lost their way, escorting our units to positions and drops. I remember my first drop, though I don’t know whether it was successful or not. It was an industrial area near Shevchenko. The Russians had a concentration in a hangar… We spotted a small hole in the roof. I hit it from a hundred meters. At the time, I was being trained by an experienced pilot, and he said, "That’s something else, Hurman!" In reality, it was pure luck, I released the grenade and it went straight into that hole, flew into the hangar and may have hit someone. That was my first time.

Our sorties run non-stop. We don’t always fly with drops, there’s reconnaissance as well. At the beginning, we had five crews. Now only one remains, God willing… We fly continuously, without days off. It’s good for gaining experience, especially when it comes to drops. If a target is found, you load up and go. We work exclusively against enemy manpower.

- When did you realize that the Russians had started infiltrating the city, that they were already inside it? Did you understand that Pokrovsk was their target?

- Our last sortie was from 8 August to 27 October.

- So you were there for almost three months?

- That’s how it turned out. To be honest, I was surprised myself. Pilots delivering water and food to other pilots, maybe that happens somewhere, but I’d never heard of it before. We remained encircled.

- How long were you supposed to go in for?

- About 16 days, roughly. We would go in, do the job, then get rotated out. But this time we got "held up" a bit…At first, the Russians were entering the outskirts of the city in small groups, one or two at a time. It didn’t work out for them; they stayed there. But gradually the enemy increased their numbers, started coming in more often in pairs or threes, and began establishing concentration points in treelines. We knew some of those locations and directed artillery fire there… They would build up in certain spots, then move out from those points and head straight into Pokrovsk. The infantry on the forward edge… I don’t know for sure, maybe they were short on ammo or had none left at all, but they were basically performing a fire-adjustment role: "I hear shots," and we would fly there. Gradually, the enemy built up numbers and pushed by sheer pressure: they advanced, got killed, and kept advancing anyway…Then the first Russians appeared in Pokrovsk itself, recon reported it and passed coordinates to us. But at that point it was still manageable: assault troops went in, stormed the position, and cleared them out. But over time, by continuing to push, they started moving farther in and taking more positions. We were receiving intercepts, and we could also see it ourselves, how they were moving straight toward us, passing right by our positions. We directed Vampir drones, FPVs took them out. But despite that, they still began actively pushing into the city.

But when we entered the city, there was still a stationary grocery store operating there.

- In the city center?

- I don’t know. I’m not a local (he laughs). It reminded me of a funny situation. Once, a drone didn’t have time to make it back to our position. The duty officer tells me, "Land it in Troianda, on Kvitkova Street!" I answered the same way I did to you: "What am I, a local?" I don’t know exactly which part of the city it was, but the store was operating. I was surprised by that myself, because logistics were already extremely difficult. The city had been heavily smashed by KABs, they were just raining KABs down on it. That’s the method of taking a city: level it completely so the enemy, meaning us, has nowhere to dig in.

- And did you have enough to fight with? Drops run out, and you weren’t able to leave…

- At first, we had ground delivery, on foot. A dedicated group was operating, they brought us ammunition, fuel, and food.

- Were you living in the basement of some building?

- Yes. At the corner of Mankina and Tsentralna streets. But our location was tipped off by "waiters," and we were hit in that basement, we were on fire. There was a reserve position, and it burned as well. Some locals were working for the Russians… Intelligence warned us: "There was an intercept, they passed your coordinates, reference points, everything." And literally that same evening, Mavics with drops and FPVs flew in, the building was burning. We evacuated to the reserve position, spent the night there, then returned. That burned-out building ended up serving as cover, apparently, the enemy decided no one was left there. And our crew remained the only one operating right up until our withdrawal.

- You said that at first everything was brought to you on foot. Until when were they able to reach you?

- I can’t pin it down by dates. In September, they were still getting through, but at the beginning of October, they cut us off completely. For about a month we were self-sustaining. Naturally, our commanders tried to reach us by any possible and impossible means… The FPV crew was no longer operational. The "Vampir operators" were assaulted, and the guys? credit to them, blew up all their ammunition right under the enemy. What happened was this: they came under assault without the attackers realizing those were the "Vampir operators." The enemy took the first floor, while the "Vampir operators" were in the basement. They kept getting on comms and asking for an assault group to be sent, because the enemy was moving around above them, dragging cabinets, setting up positions. There was even a firefight; they threw grenades at each other. But the "Vampir operators" aren’t assault troops. No matter how much they might want to be, they don’t have the tools, the situational information, or the skills for that. They waited a long time for an assault group to come and clear the first floor. They were told, "Any minute no, the group is on the way, they can already see your five-storey building," but they never got help. So they found a spot where the enemy was clustering, gathered all their ammunition and remotely detonated it in the basement. I don’t know whether it hit the first floor or not, but they detonated the ammo right under the enemy.

- How did they get out of there?

- The 151st reconnaissance battalion—good work by them. That building had a long basement with two entrances. At the second entrance, the recon troops broke through a hole from the stairwell so it was possible to get out not only through the door, but also through that opening. That’s how our "Vampir operators" climbed out.

- And the FPV guys? They were even earlier…

- …they got out as well. We were still in the city with three crews of three people each. Those FPV guys and the "Vampir operators" left the city. But we, and two other Mavic crews, stayed behind. We were in different locations, about 500–700 meters apart. Later, we were down to two groups. The third crew went missing, the guys are still listed as "missing in action." That group was ordered to change positions: enemy groups had moved in near them, literally three houses away. They had to relocate to the other side of the railroad tracks. During the crossing, the enemy spotted them moving…

During that period, we ran out of water. And there was nothing to eat either. We found water, technical water, in a tank. And in the yard of the house where we lived, there was a pear tree and grapes. That was our food.

- But you say you kept working. Did you have the means to?

- We had ammunition until the last day. We also put together improvised munitions, and we had enough grenades. We were flying constantly. Somehow, it worked out that gasoline for the generator was dropped to us reliably. We could lose water somewhere, food as well, but the gasoline was monitored and kept under control all the time. So we had what we needed to keep working. Although in the last week we were doing reconnaissance only, adjusting fire…

- Did your Starlink work?

- Everything worked for us!

- So you were in almost ideal conditions!

- Yes, except we were surrounded. And there was no food, just pears and grapes… I don’t know. I generally like to eat, but in those conditions the feeling of hunger gets dulled. You understand you want to eat, but your body reacts in a way that the sensation feels very far away. The body understands it. If I’m in normal conditions and I’m hungry, I won’t be able to fall asleep because of it. But there, everything was different. And water was the same story. We didn’t even care that flies were floating in that tank. Guys at a nearby position were taking water from some well, then pulled the bucket up and there was a rat in it. They said, "Now we’ll boil it." Well, yeah… I ask, "What, you weren’t boiling it before?" — "No."

- You understood you were surrounded. Was there panic or despair?

- Nothing like that. Maybe someone was carefully hiding it. We understood that one way or another we would eventually have to get out of there. We asked around, hinted to the command: "What’s the situation for us?" — "Just wait for now, assaults will start soon…"

- And there are more and more Russians…

- They kept massing continuously. From the reconnaissance data we were being sent, we could see they were very close to us.

Sometimes I thought about their actions, their motivation. We were at home, in our own city. We had support behind us. And they were moving into the unknown. But very quickly they began to fully control the railway, taking up favorable positions to keep it under control. I can’t understand why they were shooting at civilians. But such incidents happened. Why? Probably there was an order, to clear out anyone walking nearby.

- You say locals were giving you away. Were there still local residents living near you?

- Yes, they were living near us. I don’t know how they live, what for, what they are waiting for. Seriously, I have no idea. When we were looking for a position, we found a good basement in a five-storey building. We tried to open it, but it was fastened shut with a rubber band. We went inand there were a grandmother and a grandfather living there, with a dog. I talked to them: "Why are you staying here?" — "And where are we supposed to go, son?" — "And what are you doing here? It’s strange: to sit here in a basement under shelling, or to leave for the nearest town?" She says, "But I still need a doctor…" — "Right: there are doctors there, and everything else." Their motivation is unclear. Even if there are some "waiters", it seems to me it would be easier to be a "waiter" somewhere in a calmer area. I don’t know what they live on there. To me, these are the strangest people possible. What they do there, I don’t know. No matter how much I talked to them… Once I met a woman, the explanation was the same: "What would I do there, I have a small pension…" I’m thinking: and what are you doing here with a small pension? Back then a store was still operating there, some kind of store would come, the internet worked there, somehow they kept going. And even that… You could hear generators somewhere, but that only lasts for so long, because generators need gasoline and everything else. I don’t understand people like that. I’ll tell you: even in Shevchenko, there had already been such a slaughter, in the village itself. Our guys were trying to retake it; everything there was already destroyed, just hell… Dogs walk around at night, finishing off the dead. And even there, a grandmother and grandfather still remained, and two men were living there, people lived even in those conditions. And once there was an incident that was interesting… no, not interesting—there’s nothing interesting about it. There is a road between Shevchenko and Pokrovsk, and onto that road, where the entire epicenter of events is, where they are trying to push in, where there are anti-tank ditches, razor wire, mines, remote mining, in short, full-scale war, onto that road come out a man, a woman, and a child about seven years old. And silence from both sides… Everyone was stunned. Our crew was scrambled with a loudhailer to turn them back, and we flew with the loudhailer. Where were they going toward Shevchenko, but why? Anyway, that was the story.

We understood that we would have to leave at some point. We had a route mapped out for us to follow. It changed several times because it was based on intelligence data. Everyone understood that we had to be as careful as possible. We are pilots, we saw from above how they were bypassing our positions, how they were entering, we corrected them, they were destroyed if we didn't make it in time. The work was still being done, the work of many units.

- How did you sleep there? There were three of you at the position—you also had to keep watch so that no one, God forbid, got in. Did you do everything in shifts?

- We took a damaged drone, set it outside, and it worked for us as a video camera. When we were operating as a single crew, the routine was: one flies, the second stands watch, the third rests. Later, when a second crew joined us (they relocated after their position was burned out—a Grad strike hit it), there were six of us. Two were constantly on full combat readiness, plus we had the camera set up, and we were constantly flying ourselves, monitoring the perimeter.

- How long did you stay as a group of six?

- About a week to a week and a half.

- When did you receive the order to pull out?

- The enemy eventually figured us out. An FPV drone knocked down our antenna, more precisely, the walnut tree where it was hidden. Pity about the walnut…

- So you had pears, grapes and also walnuts?

- That’s right, walnuts. They were already ripe and tasty. I dried them in a pan, they were really good…

When our antenna was taken out, it became clear we would soon have to get out. We mapped out the route, packed our rucksacks, and put in the bare minimum for the move: technical water in bottles, two liters per person, ammunition, two grenades each… The only thing was that we had no body armor; it had burned up. We were leaving practically naked.

- Seriously?!

- Yes. It reminded me of a story. My wife told me how a friend’s husband was killed. He was a driver. A wheel got tangled in some kind of netting and he got out of the vehicle. He didn’t have a helmet on and was trying to untangle the netting with pliers. An FPV drone came in. The guys who were properly equipped ended up wounded in action, but he was killed instantly. You can’t do that in war. No matter how heavy a helmet is, you have to wear it and a body armor vest as well. But our body armor had burned up completely, and the helmets too. So we were leaving, so to speak, barefoot and with nothing on.

We understood we had to know the route we would use to pull out. We studied everything and were ready at any moment. Since our second position had burned out, we were the only ones left flying. And then, about a week and a half later, an FPV drone hit our antenna. On top of that, there was already an unexploded FPV drone sitting on the roof, fully armed. We didn’t touch it. It flew in to us, but its charge didn’t detonate. After that, we started getting ready to leave.

PULLING OUT OF THE CITY WITH A WOUNDED MAN

"It was October 27," Hurman continues. "We moved out at around six in the morning, or a bit earlier, along the agreed route.

- Did you move out one after another, one crew first, then the second?

- We moved in pairs, keeping a small distance between us—enough to see each other, because it was still dark. We had navigation, thank God.

- Did you take anything with you from there?

- The most valuable things: the antenna, we had a new one, our Mavics, Kropyva, radios… But we were forced to ditch part of the load along the way. We got a wounded man halfway, he stepped on a "lepestok" mine, and we had to drop everything to drag him along.

- How far did you have to go?

- Fifteen kilometers. I was walking in the middle. It was crucial for us to cross the railway line. We crossed in pairs. The first pair crossed, took up positions, and assigned sectors. We had a rough idea where the enemy could dig in, and the first pair covered those sectors. Then the second pair crossed, same process, expanding the sectors of control, and then the third. That’s how we got across those tracks. After that, there was an industrial zone on our left; according to reconnaissance, the enemy was there too. So we moved through the industrial area very cautiously, checking every gap so nobody could pop out from anywhere. We got through the industrial zone, and then had a small contact: we saw two shadows and engaged that direction, some silhouettes passed through. A couple of shots were fired at us, but we got away with it. Next we passed the dacha area, and we understood we were already in a relatively safer zone and wouldn’t run into the enemy. But there were still FPV drones, remote mining, and artillery. We moved fairly fast, steadily. We didn’t expect it to be that simple, we had already exhaled after Pokrovsk. When we came out past the dachas (there was also some woman there), we almost mistook our own, thank God, we spotted the tape. It was some group on electric mopeds, maybe a delivery group; they waved at us. We kept moving, dodging artillery and FPV drones.

- And were there FPV drones, could you hear them?

- There were a lot.

- Did you go to ground?

- Yes. Especially once we had a wounded man, those FPVs were the worst possible timing! One started circling over us; we dragged the wounded man under a tree. It kept circling and circling above us. Ours or not ours? Most likely not ours.

- How did the injury happen?

- He stepped on a "lepestok" mine. That’s remote mining. He hit the mine hard, full contact. It tore off his foot, together with the boot. They gave him first aid and tightened a tourniquet. We also had a good painkiller, powerful stuff that had been dropped to the infantry, so I took it with me for the route. I injected him, so at least the pain would subside after a while. He lost some blood and started getting dizzy.

- He couldn’t walk on his own, did you have to carry him?

- We found a cart. It was a tree line, and in it, so you understand, there were dead bodies, carts, rucksacks, body armor… When we reached the first dugout, we knew about that spot, we found water there, and we got canned meat, there were packages meant for the infantry. We ate well there and swapped out the water: we poured out the technical water from our bottles and filled them with fresh water.

I tried to call for evacuation, but unfortunately medics couldn’t get there. We suggested another point—denied. So we had to take turns hauling the wounded man. We reorganized: two went in front, scanning the route and mines; two men pulled the cart; one walked behind. From time to time we rotated.

- How long did you haul him for?

- Oh… I can’t say exactly. We put the tourniquet on at 11:30, and then for about another three hours…. We managed to save the leg, that was the main task. I thought they’d amputate it because of the tourniquet. But they stitched it up. Everything’s fine, the foot is still there. It wasn’t that the foot was torn off, it was an open fracture.

- Did you loosen the tourniquet on the way?

- I thought about it, but we truly didn’t have time. We had to get him out faster because he was in bad shape. I put the tourniquet on and felt along his leg. I don’t know how I missed it, I didn’t feel the phone that was in his pocket and tightened the tourniquet over it. He says, "I’m still bleeding," so I put another tourniquet lower down. I thought I’d done something wrong, but one of the guys says, "He’s got a phone, you clamped the phone." I thought about loosening it, but there was no time, we had to haul him, and haul him fast, so there would be some chance of saving him. If only he hadn’t been losing consciousness… He was dizzy, and we kept telling him, "Serhii, hold on, we’re right here." And he goes, "Guys, don’t leave me…" Anyway, we got him there, everything’s fine. They met us, and the 25th Brigade helped.

- Was there a moment when it felt like you wouldn’t make it because everyone was exhausted…

- There was. First, dehydration and a long period without enough food—the whole group was weakened. At one point I was shouting into the radio like that… Because on the one hand, they were right: the place we chose was good, but it’s unclear how it all could have ended—an FPV could have turned the whole group into "WIA."

In the video: Vadym recorded this video during the group’s pullout from Pokrovsk. Behind him you can see them hauling the wounded man. He provided it without sound because he was commenting on everything that was happening too emotionally at the time.

- When you analyze it later with a clear head, everything looks different.

- But back then it was very hard: the cart, the tree line. Poor Serhii wasn’t comfortable, but nobody knew or even thought about it. We laid him down and strapped him in: "Serhii, at least lie still and keep quiet." It was good we had painkillers, otherwise I don’t know how he would have endured it. I could see how much pain he was in; he couldn’t even talk. Those medications are meant for the infantry, for cases like that, they are very strong.

The 25th Brigade had a powerful armored vehicle, fully reinforced with welded plating. They said, "Load the guy in, let’s go." And we drove out with the 25th. They took the wounded man to their stabilization point, provided proper initial medical care there, and then he was sent to Dnipro for treatment.

The 25th brought us to one of their small houses, and from there our guys picked us up. They gave us tea. I was filthy. I looked at the guys, their faces were the same, all speckled with dirt, everyone soaked because it also started raining on the way. Everyone was so exhausted that…

- Did your wife know you were surrounded?

- She knew I was in Pokrovsk; I didn’t really tell her the details. She followed the news and sometimes asked whether everything being reported was true. I said, "Well, more or less, something like that." Thanks to Starlink, I was in touch the whole time. But we pulled out without comms, we went offline. That’s when, of course, she froze…

- When you reached the 25th, was it already dark? Roughly what time was it?

- Probably around 3 or 4 p.m., something like that.

"I DON’T WANT TO BE A SOLDIER — I’M WAITING FOR OUR VICTORY"

- How much did you sleep after that? What did you eat? What did you crave?

- The first thing I did when we got back to our own was get into a car and drive to my wife. They gave us two days to rest. I was sure they’d give us leave, I planned to come home and told my wife that. And she said, "No need to go anywhere." She had already come to Pavlohrad herself several times. She says, "So what if it’s just two days—I’ll come anyway." So I told the guys, "That’s it, I’m going who’s coming with me?" And I got into the car, still as dirty as I was and headed straight to Pavlohrad. Because where we were stationed, there was no way to properly wash up or do laundry. I didn’t want to stay in that half-darkness at all, I wanted some kind of civilization.

Getting into the car, I thought: I’ll turn the heater on now and dry everything out.

We spent a day together with my wife. I cleaned up and ate. When she went back home, I asked to be assigned to the brigade’s rehabilitation center. Some of the guys went to the hospital; two returned to positions quickly.

- A few weeks ago, additional airborne brigades were redeployed to Pokrovsk, assault troops were brought in, as well as Special Operations Forces, and the Main Intelligence Directorate... Do you think this will help to hold and clear the city?

- We’re not strategists. My view is that this should have been done much earlier. Now it’s extremely difficult to drive the enemy out of there. You can try, but what’s the point? Clearing a city the enemy has already opened a route into and brought a lot of people into, that’s very hard...

I don’t know why, but the shortage of infantry in Pokrovsk was palpable. And it produced results. What we heard in our area of responsibility were isolated assaults. Somewhere, they killed a few enemy troops and that was it. Meanwhile, something was being planned; they told us, "That’s it, the assaults are starting, guys, you’ll hear a slaughter now, this kind of war is about to begin!" And then nothing, everything was as usual: mortars, artillery, FPV drones….

- How many of the guys you served with in the Territorial Defense Forces are still in the army? And how tired are you? Wouldn’t you like to be done with the army already?

- Of course, I’d like to go back home and for the war to end. It’s not just me who wants that. As for the guys who were in the Territorial Defense… many have been discharged due to wounds, many for other reasons, some were killed. Who is still in, I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I think maybe 30–40% of those who started out.

- Do you feel like a soldier? Are you where you belong now?

- I don’t want to be a soldier. I’m waiting for our victory. And am I a soldier? Not anymore. Probably not anymore. I used to feel differently… When we first got to Zaporizhzhia, Artem said: "So, Hurman, was this how you imagined war?" — "Of course not, Artem. I’d only seen it in movies; it’s different there." I never had any desire to build a military career. A necessity arose, I went, because I understood I had to. But when the war ends, when Ukraine wins…

- …will you keep working on UAVs? You have experience.

- I could do that. But not within a military structure, maybe something semi-civilian. In that case, yes.

You get worn out by the war, by the army. You get worn out because you don’t see your kids and don’t really have full contact with your family. And the kids keep growing. I come back, and the younger one has shot up. He used to be about this tall, like me, and now… Such changes. Before the war, I was close with the kids, and now you can feel some distance. Not because of age, but because they don’t see me, there’s less communication, and they’re getting used to living without me.

- Are you afraid they might have to fight?

- Yes, I don’t want them to fight. I can’t even imagine it. I’ve never talked to them about the war. They know their dad is at war. But I didn’t tell them any stories, nothing at all. That topic was cut off immediately. Unless my wife and I discuss something, and that’s it.

Once, an acquaintance of mine was invited to a school to tell the kids something. But what can you tell children? You know, I started thinking: these toy pistols and assault rifles are sold in children’s toy stores. Toy stores. Why? You start thinking about things like that once you’ve seen war.

- But it turned out that our country has to be ready to repel the enemy and defend itself, because no one will help us.

- No one, as it turned out. All hopes have already been exhausted. You know, back in 2014, I noted all those "expressions of concern." And in 2022, I realized that since 2014, absolutely nothing had been done toward Russia by the international community, nothing except "concern." We kept hearing: give it five more years, a few more years, and Russia will collapse. But nothing was done, absolutely nothing, to make that happen. It’s still staying afloat.

Violetta Kirtoka, Censor.NET