The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Yevhenii Shablo of the 36th Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi is the first to have shot down an enemy Ka-52 helicopter using a Javelin ATGM.
His story was published on December 22 on the brigade’s page as part of the project “Marines of the 36th: stories of the passing year”.
Yevhenii is originally from the Sumy region. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, he graduated from university with a degree in mechanical engineering technology. However, he did not manage to work in his profession — the full-scale war began.
“When the russians entered the Sumy region, I immediately decided to go fight. Back then, the enlistment offices were overcrowded.
People were extremely motivated; many returned from abroad to defend their country. You hardly see that now” , — “Mayak” recalled.
He also vividly remembers shooting down the enemy helicopter.
“It was on the Zaporizhzhia axis. We were advancing as a unit, taking up more advantageous positions to cover the infantry.
The enemy did not understand where we were; the helicopter flew almost point-blank to our combat positions, close enough to engage it.
I attached the missile and fired. The missile hit the tail section; the helicopter started smoking, flew toward the enemy, and crashed there”, — “Mayak” said.
The anti-tank missile platoon has destroyed a large amount of russian equipment.
“Tanks, IFVs, vehicles, boats. We work with whatever weapons we have. We use everything, but in my opinion, the Javelin is the most effective”, — “Mayak” noted.
