Rashists attack at night, mercilessly destroy civilian objects and kill civilians

"The Russians were clearly surrounded in battle, under the influence of some drugs..." - Previously, I was a soldier of another mountain assault brigade, but the service there did not go very well. So on the advice of a friend, I transferred to the 128th. I have been here for a year and a half and I can see that I did the right thing, I am completely satisfied. I have been fighting since the very beginning of the invasion of Russia, since February 24. In the first days, our unit came under artillery fire, and then direct clashes began. I remember my first fight. We were waiting for the enemy column, and here in front of us, their intelligence took off on a passenger car and began to deploy an AGL (automatic grenade launcher). It was less than two hundred meters from our point and we immediately opened fire. They started shooting back. And what impressed me the most is when you see how you hit a two-meter-tall ambal with a machine gun, and your comrades also hit him, actually turning him into a sieve, and he continues to fight and falls bleeding only two minutes later. Then I also saw very strange behavior of the Russians. At one point we ceased fire to let them take the dead and wounded troops. They drove some kind of tractor, but they walked around the field like sleepy flies - very lethargic, as if they did not understand what they were doing. They were clearly high by something, under some drugs, just like that two-meter ambal. Then, in the first battle, I was wounded. The enemy bullet ricocheted off the BMP and flew into the thigh. Fortunately, the artery was not affected. I fired a few more shots at the Russians, and then retreated to the shelter, where I have been put on a tourniquet and been evacuated to the medical center. Was there a psychological barrier before shooting at the enemy? This is war - there is no time for philosophizing. Either you will kill or you will be killed. And if he get you, then he will be able to get your friends too. Therefore, no barriers and no regrets. At home, in the Ternopil region, my relatives and friends, whom I love very much, are they are waiting for me. Relatives in the rear provide motivation here, and on the other hand, they prevent me from unnecessary heroism on the front. They are waiting for me at home, I remember it!

"When the new ones arrive, we are asking, 'Are you our brother? No? Then we'll help you to become one..." - I am from the Lviv region, I am 50 years old, but as soon as Russia attacked Ukraine, I immediately came to the military commissariat and asked for the 128th brigade. I have good acquaintances in this brigade, so I know that this is a combative, experienced and battle-hardened military unit. My duties include delivering ammunition, groceries and ready-made food to the front, I also deal with transport, and work with people. We have a very diverse team - there are former teachers, railway workers, welders, businessmens, IT specialists... People of different ages, with different educations and from different regions, and now all of them are stormtroopers of our brigade. When the new ones arrive, we are asking, 'Are you our brother? No? Then we'll help you to become one..." I respect all the guys for not sitting at home, but for coming here to defend their country. There are a lot of young people here, and I treat my unit like my children. After the first battles, some are afraid, but over time the fear passes, determination remains. I feel that I managed to fit into the team, it was not for nothing that the fighters were given the call sign "Father". They came up with it themselves. I celebrated my 50th birthday here, on the front lines. The boys prepared a surprise - they called in the evening: "Come, Father, we need your help." I go out, and there was a car with a speaker and a musical greeting and a three-liter bottle of "Champagne". We didn't drink a single gram, I was doused with champagne, like racers in "Formula-1". This is such a beautiful anniversary... How long will we stay here? Until we suffocate those creeps. And after that you can go home to your relatives...

For several days, the instructors of the special sapper training of the Come Back Alive Foundation trained servicemen of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade. The "cadets" understood that this work requires silence, peace and concentration, because everyone was able to work out the theory in practice.

"You understand very quickly here - either you kill or you will be killed..." - In 2021, I completed my first military service, resigned in November and planned to sign a contract with the Armed Forces after a short rest. But I didn't succeed with it - in less than three months, a full-scale war began. I immediately went to the military commissariat, and since I'm from Western Ukraine (Chernivtsi), I got into the 128th brigade. I can say that war and military service are completely different things. People die here and you understand very quickly - either you kill or you will be killed. But the military service came in very handy, I didn't have to be taught elementary things, on the contrary, I instructed the soldiers on tactical and fire training. We were standing in the middle of a field in front of populated areas, we were often fired upon from MRL, tanks, and russian air froces. They will take off from behind the landing, shoot the ammunition and immediately hide. They acted cunningly, did not fly within the range of our anti-aircraft missile systems. When I shouted: "Air!", we all fall into the trench, hide in the dugout. And after a minute we are ready for battle again. It also happened that the Russians acted very primitively - a group of 10-15 people crawled towards us on a minefield and began blowing up on mines. Our machine gunners finished them off. Senseless losses but I don't feel sorry for them at all. We spent the night in dugouts, sometimes even in booletproof vest, because we were often fired upon at night. But it's okay, I want my family and friends to live in a free country, on a free land, in a normal envirement. And ready to endure anything for this!

"The hardest thing is to survive the artillery shelling, there were moments when you think - that's all. And then the fear passes and you are ready for battle again..." - I am from Chernivtsi, before the full-scale war I was employed in the Czech Republic, working as a welder. He did not complete his military service, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, he himself went to the Military Commissariat and asked for a combat unit. That's how he got into the 128th brigade. There are many volunteers among my acquaintances. For two months, we underwent intensive combat training at training grounds. We were taught to shoot with different types of weapons, the tactics of conducting urban battles, moving in pairs, providing emergency aid. And then we were transferred to a combat position. It was very hot there, on the first day we were fired upon by enemy artillery and tanks, helicopters and SU planes covered us from the air, then the Russians went on an assault. But we repelled them. During all this time, the nearest enemies approached us at 70 meters. It was a sabotage group that discovered our positions. They opened fire on us, we shot back, and after that, mortars started firing at our firing positions. During one such close combat, we shot two Russians, and later crawled after them from the landing and dragged them away. The hardest thing is to survive artillery and mortar attacks, there were moments when you think - well, that's all. And then the fear passes and you are ready for battle again. I shot the Russians at close range many times. There was no psychological barrier - only a clear understanding that this is an enemy that has come to our land and must be destroyed. Nothing else is given. Radio communication in that area is very bad, all nearby telecommunication towers have been destroyed by shelling. Once for a couple of days, I went to a safe distance, climbed a tree, caught a connection and briefly told my relatives: "I'm alive and well, everything is fine with me."