The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Bohdan, callsign “Maniac” — it sounds harsh, but at the front callsigns often appear in moments when someone does a little more than what is expected of them.
The story of the fighter was shared on the page of the 119th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“It was in Bilohorivka. They started shouting at us ‘surrender’, and I grabbed a machine gun and engaged. After the battle the guys were laughing: ‘Who was that maniac running around with a machine gun?’ That’s how it stuck”, — the fighter recalls.
Bohdan has already been at war for five years. Even before the full-scale invasion, he served his mandatory military service in Mariupol, where he gained his first combat experience.
He says he was lucky with the training — instructors from Azov taught them as if they were preparing for a real war. And that war eventually came.
He hardly had time to feel civilian life. He is only 26, and in fact spent just one year as a civilian after service before the full-scale invasion began.
Over the years Bohdan has fought in Bilohorivka, Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka, and the Serebriansky Forest. He started in the infantry.
Later he served in a fire support company. Then he moved to reconnaissance, where for two years he flew Mavics, conducting aerial reconnaissance, adjusting fire, and carrying out drone drops.
Today he serves in a ground robotic systems company. He is mastering new equipment — ground drones that perform logistics tasks, deliver supplies, or help evacuate the wounded in places where it has become too dangerous for a person to go.
He is convinced that robotic systems are an important step forward, but they will not replace the soldier.
“A piece of land where there is no infantry is not considered captured. Without people, there is no way”, — he says.
Over the years of war Bohdan has seen a lot. There were battles after which they had to evacuate comrades under drones. There were moments when an FPV drone chased their vehicle during evacuation.
Once a drone caught up with them literally at an intersection.
“We started shooting at it with an assault rifle and a shotgun. It detonated right next to us. I got a concussion and spent ten days in the hospital”, — the soldier recalls.
He says he feels fine now, but adds it as if he does not want to make a separate story out of it. In war, such episodes are unfortunately not uncommon.
At home he is waiting for his fiancée, mother, brother, and sisters. His brother also served, but due to heart problems transferred to a support battalion. Bohdan tries to stay in touch with his family every day — if there is an opportunity.
At the same time as his military service, Bohdan is studying — improving his qualifications as an electrical engineer. He says knowledge is never unnecessary.
For those who are hesitating whether to join the service or not, he has simple advice.
“Don’t think only about the fact that you might be killed. Think about what will happen if the enemy comes here”, — the soldier said.
He does not try to persuade with beautiful words. He simply says what he sees every day.
