The Greek, who has been fighting since February 2022, has six severe concussions from close flights.

Photo: Alexander KOTS

I already wrote at the beginning of summer about one of the most hellish places on earth right now – about the Donetsk suburb of Marinka, where the commander of the “Sotka” assault group fought. Greek. I return to him. The fact is that the Greek… died.

He was seriously wounded during the assault on the Anthill near Krasnogorovka (a town neighboring Marinka) and died in the hospital from loss of blood. His heart stopped.

But, as sometimes happens with the Greeks, having visited the kingdom of Hades, he again returned to the world of the living – he was pumped out. More than 2 liters of donor blood were infused. Now Grek walks on crutches and even goes out into the hospital yard. He smokes and looks thoughtfully into the distance.

Some ancient Greek god is clearly watching over him. Otherwise it is impossible to explain why death passed him by again. And the amazing thread of his fate is not broken.

The Greek, who has been fighting since February 2022, has six severe concussions from close flights. The last time I lay unconscious for seven days. Then the doctors said, “go for an MRI.” The weak device showed nothing. “Well, okay,” the physicians shrugged, wrote “food poisoning” on the card and sent him back to duty.

The Greek did not object. While you’re resting in a hospital bed, you don’t get “combat”, you can’t have fun. And he’s approaching 60, has two granddaughters, and needs help. Returned to duty.

ORDERED TO OCCUPY THE “ANTHILL”

He’s always at the front. I went to the assault a hundred times. He took prisoners. Lost friends. Of those with whom I began to serve, not a single one remains. And even in his last assault group, he was the only one who survived.

We are sitting with the Greek on the concrete parapet of the hospital courtyard in Donetsk. The wounded, gloomy or animated, hobble past. They come up and say hello. Many people know the Greek, and they shake hands with all their hearts. And he winces in pain.

– So you’re not from Marinka now?

– No. Movement began near Krasnogorovka. It’s very difficult there, the enemy’s art is working hard, cassettes are flying. Everything around was targeted. They hit exactly the places where we enter.

– Were there no cassettes before?

– We were there occasionally. And now it’s like they’ve gone crazy. They started pouring and pouring. In the field, a cassette is a dangerous thing. There’s nowhere to hide! For me, Marinka seemed like a cakewalk compared to this.

– How does the cassette work?

– Well, imagine: the exhaust, the blank separates, and from it – tyr-tyr-tyr – a bunch of grenades fly out. Whether you fall to the ground or not, you will be cut by fragments.

The “Greek” fighter told military correspondent Kubatyan about his salvation after being seriously wounded

Photo: Grigory KUBATYAN

– Was it necessary to cross the field under fire?

– Yes. There was an order to take a position… “Anthill” is called.

– Why such a name?

– There are many enemies. A complex system of trenches and fortifications along the railway. Not so easy to take. The place is bad. There is no water, you need to carry it with you. If you jump in there, you walk over dill corpses. All this is plowed up with art. But you don’t have to take the ammunition (ammunition, supply of cartridges, grenades. – Ed.), it’s lying under your feet.

WAS HOME WITHOUT GETTING OUT OF THE FUNNEL

– How was the assault?

– We walked along the “green road” at first, then after a gap it was all mown down and bare. The “bird” hangs above it around the clock and does not fly away. And the artillery strikes from the same place, always right on target. It’s a matter of luck – if you succeed, you’ll get through. We tried three times and it didn’t work. They put mines in the back, cassettes in front, and squeeze them into a bag. We went on the first assault – two “300s” (wounded – Ed.). Second day – three “300s”. They rolled back again. There was a rest day, and on the fourth day I was the only one left in the whole group.

-What saved you?

– The armorer had an apron and shoulder pads. After the first hit and concussion, he managed to jump into a shell crater. He shrank and pulled himself into the armor like a turtle. Then more arrived. I didn’t even understand about the arm then, but the leg… it was as if they took a log and just like that – heck! – with a swing across the leg. Like being scalded by boiling water. I noticed that my pant leg was suddenly filled with blood. The veins were broken, but the arteries remained intact. He grabbed his leg with a tourniquet. I injected myself with painkillers. While he was lying there, he began to “move away.” I’ve already been home…

– Like this?

– It was so good, warm. I’m at home, my wife is next to me. This is the vision. Hallucination.

RUNNED WITH A STRETCHER OVER MINES

-Who pulled you out?

– The boys from the third company. The four of us jumped out. The first evacuation did not work out; they began to be fired upon. The dills were waiting for the “three hundredths,” that is, for me, to come. The guys walked with soft stretchers, so their straps were cut by splinters. We pulled back, waited for half an hour and went again, this time with hard ones. They ran, not looking at their feet, although there were a lot of mines there.

– And then?

– They brought me to the hospital. I remember the oxygen mask and that I was like a hedgehog in catheters. For a long time they could not connect me to an IV, because there was almost no blood left.

– How many wounds did you get?

– Six. They didn’t even take out the fragments, because I would have lost more blood and couldn’t take them out. I passed out. I was under a tourniquet for so long! Plus concussion. Now I’m talking to you normally, but before that I stuttered.

– Is it possible to destroy this “Anthill” without an assault, so as not to lose people?

– Bake with the “Sunburner” (heavy flamethrower – Ed.). Or carpet bombing along with this Krasnogorovka. But they regret it. Why regret?! You’ll still have to build it again.

-What protects you from death? Is there a secret?

– My family is praying for me. He prays well. And my reaction is also good.