The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
His combat path began in the spring of 2022 with the destruction of enemy aviation as an anti-aircraft gunner, and today he continues the fight in artillery rec
The story of the fighter was shared on the page of the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade named after Hetman Danylo Apostol.
In the first hours of the bombing of Kyiv at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he managed to evacuate his family from the capital. At that time his daughter was only one and a half years old.
The first weeks in the new place were spent solving everyday problems, as many people arrived at the house at the same time. At the same time, together with the local territorial defense, the man dug trenches and collected tires.
And already in March, Viacheslav and his brother-in-law were standing at the door of the military enlistment office.
Viacheslav spent the first year and another half of the second year “in the tree lines” as an anti-aircraft gunner. His task was to wait with a MANPADS for an enemy aircraft or helicopter.
However, later the man learned about the artillery reconnaissance unit, which appealed to him more in terms of interests and corresponded to his civilian skills.
Today he is already a squad commander working in the counter-battery warfare system. His main task is to operate special equipment that monitors enemy artillery guns.
Their coordinates are calculated in the central vehicle, of which he is the commander, and then transmitted further for the successful work of the artillery.
Viacheslav says that they have to work with equipment that was manufactured back in the 1990s. However, as it turned out, even when working with it, the background from his previous profession became indispensable.
“The most interesting thing is that although the equipment is from the last century, it is all digital. This complex operates on the same architecture as modern laptops or phones. It’s just that ours is modern equipment, and that one is equipment from the 1990s, when a computer was still called a computing machine”, — the serviceman explains.
Modern devices help the military in their work, and the materials for them mostly exist in English. Therefore, knowledge of a foreign language and the ability to work with specific software are critically important skills for artillery reconnaissance.
However, Viacheslav is convinced that much of the necessary information can actually simply be googled or obtained from open sources.
But while almost anyone can master technical skills, no one can change the weather conditions. And these are a key factor on which the effectiveness of the computing unit’s work depends: in unfavorable conditions, the reconnaissance radius significantly decreases.
“Then we can say that we are a bit blind. About 90% of the time during the year the conditions are favorable for work, but we cannot influence the rest. Although, you know, in IT there is such a symbol — a shamanic tambourine. One could knock on it so that the weather clears up”, — the commander jokes.
In addition to the weather, the intensity of enemy actions also affects the work of the unit. Servicing the equipment regularly is vital, but doing it under the constant surveillance of enemy drones is extremely difficult, Viacheslav shares.
The stability of the frontline is also important: if it moves too quickly, the effectiveness of reconnaissance decreases.
Most of the fighters at the position have been serving together for the fourth year already — many of them joined even before the full-scale invasion.
The commander says that such experience allows them to understand each other without unnecessary words.
“We have rubbed in with each other so much. Someone will always support you, someone will joke at the right time. We live like a big family, just not a very prosperous one”, — Viacheslav laughs.
But the main thing is that everything in the unit is based on communication, mutual trust and mutual respect, because without them any unit cannot exist.
“And ‘magic kicks’ are another important aspect of relationships in the unit. One of the dangerous factors is getting used to danger, when the level of stress stops being enough to keep you alert. Then the ‘magic kicks’ help. Everyone has gone through this more than once”, — the commander shares.
This is how the commander manages to remain calm despite the complexity of the work and constant threats. Because it is in the combination of critical thinking, professionalism and sincere humor that the resilience is born that allows them to effectively destroy the enemy.
