The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
In 2014, due to the occupation of Donetsk, Hennadii “McLaren” moved with his family to the capital, but for years he reproached himself for not staying to fight
The story of the fighter was shared on the page of the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
When the full-scale war came in 2022, the successful businessman decided: this time he would not lose everything again.
“I told myself then that my time had come, so on March 6 I was already at the training ground where the 68th Brigade was being formed. That’s how my path in the military began”, — the fighter recalls.
Having joined as a soldier, he ended up in a mortar battery. His call sign came to him from a close comrade whose duties he began to perform — going out to orient the mortar and set up positions.
Since 2023, Hennadii has been the chief sergeant of the “Minotaur” mortar battery.
His responsibilities include training and supporting personnel.
“McLaren” believes that the main task of command is to comprehensively support the warriors who carry out combat missions.
This is exactly how his unit is built — so that comrades feel that they are cared for.
“When two years ago we were redeployed from the Kharkiv region to the Avdiivka direction, I thought: ‘God, how great it is that I will finally defend my home’, because before the war I owned property in Avdiivka.
And I remember the moment when we were still in the area of Semenivka — I saw the pipes of the coke plant through the compass. That image is constantly in my head: I was so happy then that I had the opportunity to defend a place that was very dear to me”, — Hennadii shares.
However, the battles for his small homeland also brought extremely difficult trials.
One of the most tense moments occurred in mid-December 2025, when an enemy guided aerial bomb hit the position and the mortar crew lost communication.
An evacuation group was sent after them and discovered that everyone had been wounded but had survived.
“We were so relieved to hear this news, because we had been preparing for the worst, but we held on to the hope that the guys were still alive. This was one of those rare pleasant moments. But unfortunately there are many others where we cannot influence anything. War is the will of some kind of chance and, unfortunately, fortune. You want to plan everything, but it is not always possible”, — the serviceman says.
In his opinion, war is not only about death but also about life.
Hennadii advises people to prepare themselves to be able to continue living in society with the experience gained, without blaming anyone.
And the greatest motivation for the chief sergeant is his comrades — true friends who are ready to help.
“When they take up their weapons, you understand that this may be their last time going to the position. And the guys trust you and go. So we simply have no right to give up or show that we are tired. Because they believe in you, which means you must also believe in yourself”, — the warrior concluded.
