I didn't follow the message. When they announced the mobilization, I thought: “Well, it started. It is not said that I would go to these 300,000.” One day, however, they came, around 10.00. I open the door, there are six people.
“Good morning, you have a call,” they say.
– Where? I have already served military service – I say.
– Mobilization – they answer briefly.
When I said I didn't want to go, they threatened to be considered to be evading military service, and this was punishable by up to 10 years in prison. For the sake of peace I signed the call. They gave me 12 hours to pack.
We came to the front in February 2023. From the Ukrainian positions, we were 60 m. We were not allowed to do anything: shout, chop wood. We were to just sit and watch so that nobody went anywhere. There was no order to shoot at anyone, we also didn't have to shoot drones. But before sending to the front, everyone got a price list: a shot down drone – 15,000 rubles (approx. PLN 687), damaged tank – 100,000 rubles (approx. PLN 4,584) and so on. They offered 3 million rubles for reference to light wounds (approx. PLN 137,000 500), for heavy wounds 6 million rubles (approx. PLN 275,000), for death – 15 million (approx. PLN 687,000) to a family.
Continuation of the material under the video
One of my colleagues decided to please the supervisor and shot down the Ukrainian drone. He fell straight to the forest, where the trenches were located. After two and a half hours, mortars from users flew in our direction. It lasted from 10.00 to 400 in the morning the next day.
On the morning of February 14, they gave us the number of dead and their identity. 14 people were killed from three companies and 39 were injured. We waited around the clock, and then the deputy commander of the company said: who is the bravest, let him collect the remains. There was no emotion, we didn't talk to each other. Imagine that you were drinking tea with man yesterday and today you collect his remains. It was like that. We collected Kostia in pieces, I had his second hand. His daughter is six years old, his son five, in November 2022, another daughter was born to him.
“I understood that I don't want to come back”
Melnikov Dmitry / Shutterstock
Russian soldier driving a drone (illustrative photos)
When we first got a vacation, only 49 people did not return from my company. Already during the first vacation I realized that I did not want to come back. I turned to the military police station to stand at least in front of a commission. First, I was examined by a psychiatrist working in a military headquarters.
“PTSD (post -traumatic stress syndrome). Do not allow combat operations, can lead to an extraordinary event” – he said after the examination. Then I was sent to the hospital. I went to the unit with all these documents. I showed them about the company commander.
– “What, did you decide to die?” – he said.
There was a fight. To get to the hospital, I first paid 290 thousand. rubles (approx. PLN 13,000), and then I reported. Later, the deputy commander of the company told me to give away the rifle, assign me some occupation at the staff. At the end of July, I ended my vacation, but I didn't come back. Until March of the following year, I stayed in Moscow, I received a salary and I paid a bribe every month. 100,000 I left rubles (PLN 4.6 thousand), and the remaining 100,000 I gave the command. The bribe and this monthly fee amounted to 3.9 million rubles (approx. PLN 179 thousand).
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
