The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Serhii, call sign “Ispanets”, is a sapper with the interceptor drone crew of the “Simargl” unit of the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. He is responsible for preparing drones for combat missions and ensuring the safety of the entire crew.
His story was published on the brigade’s page.
His work begins long before the drone takes off: equipping it with explosives, pre-flight checks, and control of algorithms. It ends only when the aircraft returns or strikes the target.
“There are certain algorithms that do not tolerate haste. My task is to do everything calmly and properly, because the safety of personnel is the top priority”, — Serhii says.
Before the war, he worked in the field of security and economic protection in retail. It was there, he says, that he learned the key thing — a cool head and strict adherence to procedures.
“You can’t be nervous with explosives. There is a sequence of actions — and you follow it”, — the sapper explains.
In 2022, Serhii joined the Territorial Defense Forces, served for a year and a half, and later returned to civilian life. In 2025, he was mobilized again — consciously choosing air defense and specifically the Presidential Brigade. The reason was personal.
“I saw a Shahed hit the kindergarten my son attends. After that, the choice was obvious”, — he recalls.
Serhii underwent sapper training in Spain — hence the call sign “Ispanets”. Western equipment did not impress him: he says Ukrainian solutions are no longer inferior and often surpass them.
The crew already has successful shoot-downs of enemy UAVs to its credit. Serhii remembers the first destroyed drone in detail:
“Adrenaline, joy — and most importantly, the Shahed didn’t reach anywhere and didn’t cause tragedy”.
His greatest motivation is his family.
“My wife and I decided to live here. To do everything so that our children never see war again”, — the sapper says.
