Conscripted into army three times, but still without participant in hostilities status

Ukrainian army model of 2005: marching, "order" and lack of combat training

We meet with Yuriy in one of the Chernihiv eateries. His whole life is connected with this city. He was born and graduated from school here, received a higher education at the Chernihiv Polytechnic, majoring in Electronic Systems.

Yuriy joined the army for the first time after graduating from university. He started his postgraduate studies in Kyiv, but quickly realized that he had no great desire for scientific work. So he left his studies.

"There were no special plans in life at that time. In order not to go to the army, it was necessary to somehow cheat, but I did not want to and went to serve," he says.

In the 2000s, the Ukrainian army seemed to have moved away from Soviet traditions, but did not come close to forming a combat-ready army. After all, there was no war on the horizon then.

With a higher education, the service lasted eight months. He admits that it was not the best time: the soldier had to be busy all the time. If there was even free time, it was watching TV programs together. If there was an opportunity to go out into the city, it was only with the commander. A special "thing" in the army was orderliness, there were even special devices that measured... the "correctness" of a made bed.

"There was a lack of high-quality military training, especially fire training, in the army at that time. We were at the shooting range several times, 10 or 20 bullets were fired per soldier. But there was too much marching on the training ground," he recalls.

The only thing Yuriy would need in the future was the ability to assemble and disassemble weapons acquired during his service in the army.

Over time, the leadership of the military unit needed Yuriy's analytical abilities and his ability to work on a computer. So he was engaged in this until the end of his military service.

No one called

After the army, Yuriy returned to civilian life: he got a job, got married, and a son was born in the family. In 2014, when the war started in the east, Yuriy was out of work. At this time, he was served a draft summons from a military commissariat.

This is how he ended up at the training center in Desna, and then in the communications brigade, which was based in Kyiv Oblast.

"It was not a combat unit. We were engaged in repair of equipment. Although many of my colleagues went on a rotation to a combat zone in order to receive [war participant] status. You cross the conditional frontier — and receive a participant in hostilities [status]. But I did not rush. I understood what war is, and it was immoral for me to go there for bonuses," he says.

He became friends with many of his brothers-in-arms, with whom he served for more than a year. When the time came for demobilization, the management urged Yuriy to enroll in the first-line reservists. The main advantage of this status was that in case of mobilization, he would serve in the same unit.

"I would be happy to serve there, that's why I applied," he says.

For several years, Yuriy was a completely civilian person. Until a full-scale war broke out.

Yuriy was called from the military commissariat with questions about whether he would go to serve or whether he would dodge. He replied that he would serve. The interlocutor said to wait for a call.

But on the first day of the full-scale war, no one called. He watched how the Territorial Defense was formed in Chernihiv as its nearest post was not far from his house.

"The guys had weapons and dug in to resist the enemy's attack. While I was deciding what to do next, the doorbell rang in the apartment and I was brought a draft summons from the military commissariat. I felt a great sense of relief: everything became clearly understood, and I went to the assembly point with my belongings," recalls Yuriy.

Command: get together

There were many men in the military commissariat. There was no real medical examination, the selection was carried out according to the principle of "served - did not serve". Yuriy Sikach did not get to "his" unit, as he was once promised. Instead, he joined the 58th Brigade, which was based in the forests of Chernihiv Oblast near the Kyiv highway.

"The main thing at that time was the positive mood of the soldiers – everyone was motivated to fight the enemy, the majority voluntarily joined the military commissariats. I was almost the only one who received a summons," Yuriy shares.

Until the beginning of May 2022, his unit was located in Chernihiv Oblast and was focused on economic activities — providing combat units with fuel, ammunition, and food. Then there was an order to relocate the unit, but no one particularly knew the details of the move as everything was kept secret, since a military echelon will always be a target of the enemy.

"There was even a strike at one of the stations, but our train had already left. We arrived in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, unloaded the equipment in a small town. And then we were taken by bus to Donetsk Oblast," he recalls.

Shortly after the deployment, the commander approached the unit and said that it was necessary to go to Bakhmut, as if to unload something. They didn't really explain anything.

"I answered: if necessary, I will go," says Yuriy.

It turned out that the combat unit needed surveillance support. They were in a village where there were no more locals, and they were about to wait for the appearance of Russian tanks.

There was a task: if the infantry came – to start a battle, if tanks appeared – to report and withdraw. Nothing happened that day. After all, the command to get together came. At that moment, an enemy mortar shell landed.

"At some point, I realized that everything is not so bad in Ukraine"

Yuriy says that he remembers only a white flash. And when he came to his senses in a few seconds, he saw that his right arm was just hanging. As it turned out later, the explosion damaged the nerves in the arm, also wounded the chest and damaged the lung. Another four or five people received light and medium injuries.

One of the fellows started to help Yuriy, but could not because of the blood. The youngest fighter, Andriy Savchenko, who had previously completed tactical medicine courses, managed well.

First, the wounded man was transported in a cart found in the village yard to an infantry fighting vehicle. Yuriy probably does not know where he was operated on – in Bakhmut or Druzhkivka hospitals. But after that he ended up in a hospital in Dnipro. There were a lot of wounded, even lying in the corridors. A complication arose on the wounded hand as severe swelling appeared, so the doctors decided to transport the wounded man to the capital. Yuriy and another soldier were transported by medical helicopter.

"At some point, I realized that everything is not so bad in Ukraine. If so much attention is paid to a regular soldier. The best doctors fought for my life and health, my treatment was paid for by the state," says the former soldier.

He also felt support from civilians who tried to feed wounded soldiers in a hospital near the front, and volunteers who visited the wounded in Dnipro and Kyiv and were interested in their needs.

Rehabilitation lasted quite a long time. For half a year, Yuriy could not even raise his hand and perform usual actions. So during this time he mastered his left hand.

Currently, the resident of Chernihiv has a disability obtained as a result of hostilities, but does not have the status of a participant in hostilities. All because of the bureaucracy, because no one issued a combat order to send Yuriy to the task.

"The status of a combatant entails benefits, but I don't need it. I feel grateful to the state for everything done for me. There are no complaints," he says.

According to the doctors' decision, Yuriy is no longer fit for military service. In order to return to civilian life, he had to travel around, because some of the units were moving, and it was necessary to collect about 30 signatures of representatives of various services that he is clear. Although he did have to pay for the helmet cover abandoned during the injury.