Stories of Ukrainian volunteer service members fighting to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity

Yurii Yakovenko comes from the Donetsk region. He was born and spent his childhood in Myrnohrad. After graduating from school, he entered the Donetsk National University majoring in Law and moved to Donetsk, where he engaged in social activities.

Almost immediately, with the help of another well-known activist and defender of Ukraine, Vitalii Kyrkach-Antonenko, Yakovenko joined the patriotic movement in the Donetsk region.

While in patriotic organizations, Yakovenko took part in various actions, rallies, and marches. In 2013, he joined the Revolution of Dignity, which had begun in November 2013 as Euromaidan — the protest against pro-russian President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to sign the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. Yakovenko went to protests several times during the winter of 2013-2014. And then russia started its aggression in Ukrainian Donbas in the spring of 2014.

Yuriy returned from Kyiv to Donetsk. And if the capital celebrated the regime's overthrow and mourned the dead, the atmosphere was already bad in the Donetsk region. More and more strange men appeared in Donetsk who did not know their way around the city and constantly asked where they could exchange rubles for hryvnias. On March 1, a pro-russian rally was held in Donetsk with russians brought from the Rostov region.

The number of intentionally brought russians and local pro-russian activists was increasing. Patriotic forces defended the city as best they could, but then the administration building was taken over, and staying in the city was no longer possible. Pro-russian forces made lists and were going around apartments, looking for pro-Ukrainian activists.

In May, Yakovenko left for Dnipro, where the "Dnipro 1" regiment was formed. He immediately decided to join to defend his native region from the invaders. Then, in 2014, Yurii took part in the liberation and defense of the village of Pisky. But he was wounded in the fall and could return to service only a year later.

"Then everything had already changed. Since August 2015, volunteer battalions began to be withdrawn from the front line. When I returned, we were given tasks in rear towns and villages without any specifics. It didn't wasn't my cup of tea, so I decided to resign from the service and return to civilian life," Yurii shares.

After that, Yurii moved to Lviv, where he married and became a father. The ex-service member worked in a printing house and led a quiet family life.

Yurii shares that he understood there would be an invasion but didn't know when exactly: "I thought it would be in a hybrid format, as in 2014, but I did not think that russia would go so far. I understood that something would definitely happen when they deployed field hospitals on the border with Ukraine."

On February 24, Yakovenko was in Lviv when his father-in-law called him in the morning and said the war had started. On the same day, he called his friends and began to think about what to do. The next day, they were already in a military unit in the Zhytomyr region, where they received weapons and their first combat mission.

"I stayed in this unit. In March, we were transferred to another direction — to the Donetsk region and Zaporizhzhia. We were engaged in reconnaissance and sabotage. For example, we blocked the road to slow down the enemy's advance and worked behind enemy lines," Yakovenko explains.

Yakovenko remembers the year 2022 for its counteroffensive actions.

"We were envious of soldiers leading an offensive in the Kharkiv region. And then, our unit was transferred to the Kherson region, where we participated in the liberation of the right bank. There were many grateful people in every village, who really waited for us, thanked us, and hugged us. To know they were waiting for us there was very motivating, inspiring, and supportive," says Yakovenko.

The soldier is not talking about plans for the future. But he says that after the victory, there will be many more problems — the destroyed economy and the reconstruction of cities and regions.

"Perhaps, I will join the restoration of the country. We are helping people even now. For example, when there is free time, we deliver humanitarian aid to the Kherson region and evacuate people," says Yakovenko.

The soldier's wife stayed in Ukraine and refused to go abroad. Therefore, during several days of rest, a servicemember can see his family.

Shyrshykov was born in the Luhansk region. After school, he graduated from a machine-building technical college and then was drafted into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Shyrshykov served in a separate battalion of special management communications. He and his friends excelled in training, so they stayed to teach the next conscripts. In 2009, the servicemember received his second degree and became a transport engineer, subsequently having various jobs in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Like many residents of the Luhansk region, Shyrshykov had to change his residence twice. After the start of the russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, he moved to Sievierodonetsk. From 2016 until February 24, 2022, he worked in the Sievierodonetsk city military-civilian administration as the head of the transport and communications department. Shyrshykov dealt with the work and development of urban transport in Sievierodonetsk. There were many projects that he tried to implement in the city which would be helpful in the entire Luhansk region.

As one of the examples, Shyrshykov's team was close to realizing the unification of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk railway stations by trolleybus route. Unfortunately, part of the Luhansk region and Sievierodonetsk are now occupied.

Shyrshykov says that since 2014 he was worried that he had not joined the ranks of the Armed Forces.

"There were reasons, excuses for myself. At that time, I lived with my family in Sievierodonetsk. I carefully monitored information about the threat of a new invasion. And when, from 2019, the russians began accumulating forces on our borders, I finally understood that there would be a full-scale war," Shyrshykov shares.

In 2021, Andriy underwent a periodic medical examination at the Military Committee and decided to sign a contract with the Territorial Defense Brigade. He says his wife was also serving on a contract in a military hospital at that time.

"I thought we would serve with my wife, defend the Motherland. The plan was always like this, and I told the children about it: 'Mom and I are fighting, and you and grandma are going to the evacuation.' And my words about the need to evacuate were confirmed."

On February 24, Andrii's long-awaited vacation began. He and his friends went fishing to close the season. As soon as they reached the shore, his mother called him and said the war had started.

"Mom, the war has been going on since 2014," the soldier replied. But his mother shared that missile strikes are all over Ukraine, and Kyiv is also being bombed.

The friends immediately went home. Andrii's chief ordered finding transport to evacuate the newborn orphanage in Sievierodonetsk. Andrii immediately started working on it. The same day Andrii received a call from the Military Commissariat.

"In 10 minutes, I collected the things I considered necessary and arrived at the place where they told me. This is how my service began in the 111th separate brigade of the Luhansk Region Territorial Defense. Since 2014, I have been haunted by the thought that I am not doing anything to protect the Motherland. I remembered how a machine gun looked and knew how to handle weapons. But some of my comrades had not been in the service before, and for them, it was the first time," Andrii shares.

The serviceman says they learned everything on the go — to shoot, run, react. Andrii is now performing combat tasks in the Kreminna direction, near Sievierodonetsk. He cannot say what exactly he does, but he explains with a passage from a song:

"I came quietly, and I left quietly. This is what we do."

In 2022, Andrii took part in defense of Lysychansk. Then he worked in the brigade's headquarters, after which he transferred to the assault platoon, which was being formed then. Andrii is not thinking about plans for the future yet. He admits that a feeling of fatalism appeared during his service.

"The main thing is to survive the war and not lose your mind. Many comrades are no longer with us, which is very difficult to bear morally. At the very least, I will return to my position and try to implement the plans I have outlined. I want to participate in the liberation of Ukraine to the borders of 1991. I want to win and live on," says Andrii.

Serhii was born and grew up in Lviv. After finishing school, he obtained a bachelor's degree at the University of Trade and Economics. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked in the service sector with bars, restaurants, and cafes. Serhii says that on February 23, he was negotiating for a new project in Ternopil, and the next day a full-scale russian offensive began.

"I received a message from my mother at 5 a.m. that the war had started. I opened the Telegram messenger and saw what was happening. I contacted my comrades, and we met in the evening to discuss what we would do. Then it was not clear what and where it would be. They said that the orcs would go from the Volyn direction. On February 25, we went to the Zhytomyr region, received weapons, and were ready for tasks," says Serhii.

The soldier was enrolled in the Armed Forces ranks on March 3, but they performed combat tasks even before that.

Serhii's unit was stationed in Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions during his service. Now they have returned to work in the Donetsk region. In October 2022, they took part in the liberation of the Kherson region. Serhii says that combat tasks are constantly changing depending on the situation.

"This is surveillance, demining, clearing territories, assaults. During the liberation of the Kherson region, reconnaissance and clearing were also carried out. There were also rifle battles, and tank battles, with infantry, with landing forces. In 2014, I decided that if the enemy advances, it is necessary to support the army and go to the country's defense. February 24 showed how much our neighbor hated us. The decision was instantaneous," says Prutskyh.

At first, Serhii told his family that he was going to volunteer. Only after arriving at the place and receiving a weapon did he confess to his relatives about joining the army. They responded with support and tears.

At first, everything was new for Serhii in the army since he had no military experience. Every day he studied something new for himself — from medicine to weapons.

Serhii is now engaged in reconnaissance and target destruction. The question about plans for the future is answered by:

"I think every military man thinks about what he will do. I will rest first. I always wanted to open my own bar. Maybe I'll do it, do my own thing."

Volunteers are the ones from whom the army was reborn in 2014. And this should be remembered. Today, like other military personnel, they bring Ukrainian victory closer every day, fighting for freedom, independence, and the future.

Сarried out with the support of the Association "Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine" as part of the implementation of the Regional Media Support Hub project. The views of the authors do not necessarily coincide with the official position of the partners.