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.