Celebrities with Ukrainian roots
Taken from Wikipedia
There are many Ukrainian-Americans in the United States, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Ukrainian American or must have references showing they are Ukrainian American and are sufficiently notable to merit a Wikipedia article...
This is a list of notable Ukrainian Canadians, including both original immigrants who obtained Canadian citizenship and their Canadian descendants. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Ukrainian Canadian or must have references showing they are Ukrainian Canadian and are notable.
War is not over. Christmas version
War is not over. Christmas version
War is not over. Please stand with us and support Ukraine.
Nine Ukrainian soldiers sing famous Christmas carols, true symbols of the holidays, but in each of them a few words have been replaced.
For example, in John Lennon's song Happy Xmas, the words "war is over" are heard.
Only one "no" was added to the text phrase — "war is not over".
With this video, Ukrainians wanted to congratulate the world on the upcoming Christmas and at the same time remind that the war in Ukraine continues. The video was shot in a dugout in the direction of Bakhmut and against the background of civilian objects destroyed by the Russian invaders. cultural center and railway station in Lyman, schools and gas station in Kostyantynivka, 15 km from the front line.
The heroes of the video, created with the support of the "Cultural Airborne", are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a paramedic of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and military medics.
I really want to believe that God will hear the pure voices of defenders of Ukraine.
The Heroes of the Video, Created With the Support of "Cultural Airborne", Are military men and women of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a Paramedic of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and Military Medics:
- The Guitar and Vocals Sound In the Performance of the Military 110th a separate territorial defense brigade Who Was Wounded In the Fights Under Lysychansky, Oleksandr Remez and the Combat Medicine of the Fire Support Platoon of the 206th Battalion of the territorial defense Armed Forces of Ukraine Inna Korolenko;
- Bandura and Vocals - Performed by Military of the 59th a separate motorized infantry brigade Dmytra Romanchuk, Who Took Part In the Defense of Kyiv;
- The Party At Sopilc Was Performed by the Paramedic of the "Hospitalyers" Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, Musician and Frontman of the "Corally" Band Mykhailo Adamchak;
- Percussion Played by Military of the 110th aseparate territorial defense brigade, Actor and Drummer Artur Temchenko;
- Piano and Vocals - Performed by Military of the 59th a separate motorized infantry brigade, Composer and Music Producer Mykhail Olyynik;
- The Part On the Saxophone Was Played by Dmytro Dudko, a Military of the 59th a separate motorized infantry brigade;
- Vocalists — Combat Medicine of the 3rd Motor Infantry Platoon of the 1st Company of the 10th separate mountain assault brigade "Edelweis" Iryna Kosovska, Military of the 59th a separate motorized infantry brigade Victoria Chudakovska and Soloist of the Honored Academic sample-demonstration orchestra of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Svitlana Cherednychenko.
Video: UNITED24
"He went to partisanship for the sake of the children." The story of a family-type orphanage, whose father was killed by the Russians
December 11, 2023
translated by google
On March 3, 2022, around 10:00 a.m., the life of the Savchenko family from the village of Bilka in Sumy Oblast was divided into "before" and "after". That day, 45-year-old Mykola Savchenko disappeared.
Lyudmila's wife and six adopted children did not know where he was until March 21, when Mykola was found murdered.
There were traces of torture and bullet wounds on the body - in the head and heart.
Much later, the relatives learned that Mykola was helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine - he transmitted data on the movement of enemy equipment. He was killed for that.
We came to Ludmila in the fall of 2023. Now she is learning to live without Mykola. To live for the sake of the children he so dreamed of.
***
Sunday is almost the only day of the week when Lyudmila and her children have a lot of free time. Children's laughter and lively conversations can be heard in the house. The family plans next week. The weekday schedule here is as follows: get up at 7:00 a.m., then have breakfast, go to school; to do lessons and visit circles - from 14:00 to 17:00.
"My back doesn't dry out - I'm constantly in motion," Ludmila smiles.
Lyudmila Savchenko together with six adopted children. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
She is 55 years old. She is smiling next to the children. Sadness gives freedom when alone.
"Sometimes I even think - if only to go to bed sooner. So that they don't see and hear my tears," Lyudmila admits when we talk together.
She lived in this house with her first husband. After the divorce, she bought part of the house and continued to build a life here.
House of the Savchenko family. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
I met Mykola Savchenko. She remembers that she fell in love with him for his good heart and hard work.
"Kolya was fond of electromechanics. He still had something to do - a telephone, a TV, a light bulb, a socket, wiring. For him, it was a job for one minute. All the pensioners from the street went to him - Kolya, I have to do it, Kolya has to do it, to see. He helped everyone," Ludmila recalls.
Mykola Savchenko. Family archive
When the couple started living together, the woman already had two sons from a previous marriage. Mykola took care of them like family, Lyudmila says.
"One was 10, the other was 7. We raised them, gave them an education. The older one became a construction worker, the younger one - a soldier. He is at the front. The older one went to Poland before the war, but plans to return to defend Ukraine," says Lyudmila.
In January 2022, Lyudmila and Mykola celebrated 25 years of life together.
"He just dreamed of children"
Six children from 6 to 12 years of age are growing up in the family-type orphanage, which is now being looked after by Lyudmila herself. The boys - Mykhailo, Oleksiy and Stas - are reserved and of few words. Sonya, the oldest of the girls, is shy. The middle Nastunya is active and cheerful, the smallest Milana is restless and emotional.
"We dreamed of children for a long time... Mykola insisted on creating a foster family. He had no children of his own. I saw that sometimes he cried because of this. He just dreamed of fatherhood ," Lyudmila recalls.
When the woman's sons grew up, the couple often talked about the possibility of becoming adoptive parents. And in the end, they dared to take the dream step.
"My parents had six children. The husband was the only one in the family. And Mykola told me that he suffered because of this ," says Lyudmila.
Mykhailo, Milan and Nastya Saloyedov were adopted by the couple into their family on January 14, 2021. Milan was then three years old, Nastya was four, and Misha was ten. Their mother died of tuberculosis. Their dads are different.
Mykola became a good father to these children, Lyudmila says.
"As soon as he comes home from work, as soon as he comes to the door, the girls will already be hanging on him: "Daddy is home from work." Dad gives them candy. The fact that mom buys a kilogram doesn't count ," Lyudmila recalls with a smile.
Then the couple decided to have three more children. They were adopted into the family in January 2022. These are Sonia, Lyosh and Stas Didusy. Thus, the foster family became a family-type orphanage.
"For a short time, we all lived a carefree life as a group. A full-scale war began ," says Lyudmila.
Five minutes stretched into eternity
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Lyudmila went to Trostianets to withdraw money. At 6 o'clock in the morning, the shelves with bread in the stores were already emptied. After buying several kilograms of crackers, the woman returned home. The family thought about what to do next.
"Mykola told me even earlier that 14 people lived in his mother's cellar, which is a neighboring yard, during the Second World War. They made a small house for themselves, smoked there. We went there. Mykola installed electric heating, installed a TV, beds," he recalls. Lyudmila
So that the children were less afraid, mother distracted them: she taught them the multiplication table, read, and talked a lot.
On the same February 24, the Russian army entered Trostianets, and the nearby village of Bilka on March 2. Located on the territory of the farm.
"We were sitting in the cellar and heard how Russian equipment was constantly moving down the street. The occupiers were walking around the houses. They came to our house more than once. They broke the locks everywhere, so many tools were raked out..." - says Lyudmila.
The street where the Savchenko family lives. Photo by Khrystyna Dovbna
The family spent the night from March 2 to 3 in the cellar. In the morning, around 10 o'clock, Lyudmila and Mykola went outside to prepare food and get water. Then the wife went to the children, and the husband disappeared. Before that, he asked Ludmila for a phone, went somewhere with him and promised to return in 5 minutes.
Those 5 minutes stretched into eternity.
"He was probably taken from the yard... The day before, we were there - in the cellar. And he was walking here - home. Here-there, here-there. It's already one in the morning, and he's walking... Mishka also says: "Well, Dad, well, lie down and sleep. Well, at least sit next to us," Ludmila recalls.
Only recently did she learn that Mykola was a partisan, helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine with information about the location of Russian equipment and soldiers.
"He told his neighbor about it. He didn't tell me. He was going somewhere, but I thought he was for work. He was an electrician at the Trostyanetska mill, which was still working in the first days of the war," Lyudmila said.
"Forgive us, but we found him"
Mykola disappeared with Lyudmila's phone. The woman was unable to call anyone to report her disappearance. And because of shelling, she could not go anywhere. Only on March 18, 2022, she managed to go to the local doctor, to whom she told about what had happened.
"I say that Mykola has been missing for 15 days. She says: "If you find him alive somewhere - thank God..." - recalls Lyudmila.
Returning from the doctor, she saw about 20 men, a green "Niva" and a motoblock near her yard. She remembers how it got cold inside: did they bring Mykola to identify her?
"We had another boy from a neighboring village there. He was also captured by the Russian soldiers. And they brought him to me for identification - was he not my husband? It was all very scary," says Ludmila.
The next day - March 19 - a shell exploded in the garden of the Savchenko family. Damaged the roof and windows of the house, the greenhouse.
Meanwhile, Mykola Savchenko was being searched by the local security forces. Found on March 21. The man's frozen and tortured body lay in a ditch on the farm.
"We were in the yard, the children were just sitting down to eat, " says Lyudmila. " I see a car driving with a trailer. The body of Koli was brought by the precinct officer with another guy from the police force and says: 'Forgive us, but we found him.'"
There were traces of torture on Mykola's body: broken hands and fingers, bruises. And also - gunshot wounds to the heart and head. Lyudmila says that since the last time she saw her husband, he did not live long. I understood this from the bristles that did not have time to grow. On the day Mykola was taken away, he had just been shaved.
"We decided to bury him right away. It was around 2:00 p.m. It's winter, it gets dark early. I left the children at home with the eldest Mykhailo. We went with the people to the cemetery, chose a place. We bought a candle. I had ten meters of brocade, but there was no coffin , buried without her..." - says the woman.
On March 24, the Russian military carried out an airstrike on the village of Bilka. After that, Ludmila decided to leave the village for a while and took the children to Zhytomyr for rehabilitation.
"I stocked up, we had 10,000 hryvnias, and we left. We reached Zhytomyr. There we were helped by a woman who was American. A pastor I knew from Sumy, Maksym, told her about our family. They are from the same church. At first, he suggested that we leave abroad, but I refused. I reported the trip to the Sumy children's service. Until the head gave permission, we could not leave anywhere. We stayed in Zhytomyr for a month. On May 15, we returned home and planted a vegetable garden," Lyudmila says.
Trostyanets was released by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on March 26, 2022. A year and a half later, in September 2023, on the day of the city, Mykola Savchenko was awarded the honorary badge "For heroism and courage".
The badge of honor "For heroism and courage" was posthumously awarded to Mykola Savchenko. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
"He joined the partisans for the sake of the children, so that they would live. He was fearless. But now he is gone, and I am left alone with six children. It is very painful ," says the woman, holding back tears.
"For nearly a year, I constantly dreamed of him"
The rural cemetery is located not far from the house of the Savchenkos. Having left the children to the elder Mykhailo, Lyudmila agrees to visit her husband's grave with us. She comes here often: she tells Mykola the news.
Lyudmila Savchenko at her husband's grave. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
Lyudmila asks for a few minutes to be alone with her husband.
After that, we continue communication.
"Sometimes I go to the garden and out of habit I say to Mykola: 'Take a shovel and let's go to work,'" Lyudmila says, wiping away tears.
Mykola Savchenko's grave. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
For the monument, she chose a photo of a man smiling. He says he was like that in life. There is also an inscription: "Beastly tortured by the Russians." The woman explains that it was made so that we would not forget the price of the struggle for victory.
The inscription on the grave of Mykola Savchenko. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
For about a year, Lyudmila says, she often dreamed of Mykola - he was dressed in a white suit.
"He came, sat down in the house and sits, is silent. I wake up, walk, walk and understand - you can't do anything anymore. He is gone," says the woman.
" We stick together "
Until recently, Lyudmila and her children were supported by her youngest son, who returned from the front and had a vacation. But later he was sent to fight.
"And they collected the documents, that we ourselves, that he helped us. But they took them anyway," says Lyudmila Savchenko.
She devotes all her free time to her children, does not work anywhere. Officially, Lyudmila is a mother-educator.
"We lack a lot of things. The family is big, I carry everything myself. For example, we talked with the local authorities about buying a bus for us, but the matter did not go any further. We had a car - for four seats, and for seven of us. The roof of the house - in holes after a shell exploded in the garden ," says Lyudmila.
The family receives social assistance from the state, which Lyudmila applied for half a year after she took away Lyosha, Stas and Sonya. And nothing more.
"We are not subject to any of the articles on additional assistance ," he says.
Every day, my mother takes the children to the Trostyanets Palace of Children and Youth. Recently, twice a week, children also study English at a private school. Ludmila says, they are very satisfied with their studies.
"Mykhailo was still interested in woodcarving, Stasha persuaded her to go to painting. Lyosha and Sonia go to paper plastic. Milana and Nastya went to vocal and dance lessons, later they expressed a desire to do more beadwork. Sonia joined them," - Lyudmila cheers up , when talking about the fascination of children.
Girls go to school, boys have mixed education: a day at school, a day online.
Lyudmila's greatest dream today is to raise children as Mykola would like to see them - dignified and responsible. The woman says that they support her in everything, try to help.
The family grows vegetables, as well as apples, pears, quince, and apricots. They keep cattle. Everyone has their own household responsibilities. Lyosha takes care of goats and dogs. Milana helps wash the dishes. Sonya has chickens. Misha watches the rabbits, goes shopping to the store. Stas is responsible for the sheep.
Pets of the Savchenko family. Photo by Ruslan Dovbny
"After Mykola's murder, it's very difficult for us, but we stick together. The children understand that I am with them. And I understand that they are with me," says the mother.
Conversations, memories and games with the children made the time in the Savchenkos' house fly by imperceptibly. Lyudmila sees me off with a hug and finally treats me to apples. She collected them in her own garden together with her children. They and caring for them, he says, is what he lives for.
You can support the Savchenko family
The text was prepared by the memorial platform Memorial , which tells the stories of civilians killed by Russia and dead Ukrainian soldiers, especially for.
Khrystyna Dovbnya, specially for Ukrainian pravda. Life
Erase the Nation
‘Erase the Nation’ – documentary on the Russian crimes against Ukraine's cultural heritage
Ukraine had over 5,000 museums, 65 historical-cultural reserves, and about 170,000 monuments before the war, including seven UNESCO World Heritage sites. During the nine months of the war, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine registered over 800 instances of Ukraine's cultural heritage destruction perpetrated by the Russian military forces. This number is growing by the day and still does not account for all the affected areas or the scale of the destruction.
Attacks on cultural heritage sites or the looting of Ukrainian museum collections violate international law. Now, as never before, Ukrainians and the cultural heritage in Ukraine need the support and assistance of the entire world community. The film intends to send a message to organisations and the international community to depict the scale and cruelty of the destruction committed there.
The documentary film 'Erase the Nation,' directed by Tomasz Grzywaczewski, shows the destruction of Ukraine's cultural heritage, having been carried out by the Russian Federation's troops since 24 February 2022. The film shows the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian monuments from Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ivankiv, Kyiv, and Kharkiv to Izium and Bohorodychy in eastern Ukraine. The crimes committed against secular and religious cultural heritage, from archaeological monuments to modern libraries and schools. Testimonies by Ukrainian cultural representatives paint a picture of a deliberate struggle of barbaric invaders against Ukrainian identity, for which Ukrainian heroes are giving their lives.
- We used to have a beautiful and rich exhibition. The Russians are destroying essential items. The attack on the Skovoroda museum was intended to destroy the greatness of our spirit. It was intended to erase the identity of our nation. A rocket flew from the north and hit the fuel supply. Then everything caught fire. The ceiling was on fire. It was like hell here, but amidst this hell, the monument to Hryhoriy Skovoroda has persevered, which is very significant and symbolic," says one of the documentary's characters, Hanna Yarmish of the National H. S. Skovoroda Memorial Museum.
The film also presents ways of securing and attempting to protect damaged sites and the scale of assistance that is and will be needed to protect and restore cultural heritage in Ukraine.
The National Institute of Cultural Heritage has been participating in the protection of Ukraine's cultural heritage since the beginning of the Russian aggression. By the decision of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Support Center for Culture in Ukraine, which is the primary coordinator of governmental assistance to the cultural sector, operates within the structure of the National Institute. The Center coordinates (Polish and foreign) initiatives to save Ukraine's cultural resources and conducts information and educational activities about Ukrainian cultural heritage, particularly the threats and losses caused by warfare.
Tomasz Grzywaczewski - journalist and author of books, film scripts, and academic publications on international relations. He has reported on armed conflicts in the Donbas, Turkish Kurdistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and currently, Ukraine.
The film was commissioned by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage within the framework of activities of the Support Center for Culture in Ukraine. It was financed from funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The Support Center for Culture in Ukraine is a unit of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, established by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage as the primary coordinator of governmental assistance to the cultural sector in Ukraine. The Institute's experience and long-standing Polish-Ukrainian cooperation have provided grounds for effective support of Ukraine’s cultural heritage since the first day of the war. The Center coordinates domestic and foreign initiatives to save Ukraine's cultural resources. It conducts information and education activities to highlight Ukrainian cultural heritage, particularly the threats, and losses caused by the hostilities. It cooperates with Polish cultural institutions, museums, state archives and libraries, conservationists, and other institutions. The Institute supports Ukraine in front of international institutions, mainly by providing information and evidence of the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian cultural property. In cooperation with UNESCO and other international organisations, the National Institute also initiates new projects to support the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
The commander took a machine gun and shot
The commander took a machine gun and shot the enemies directly from the hatch." The story of a tanker who received the Hero of Ukraine star posthumously
October 12, 2023
Google translate
On September 29, the President awarded the title of Heroes of Ukraine to servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Junior sergeant Dmytro Granchar, who was awarded the title of Hero with the note "posthumously" is among the awardees.
The award decrees do not specify the military unit and do not describe the merits of the soldiers. However, the author of this material was lucky enough to know Dmitry and his comrades personally, so we can write for what exactly the Hero star was received.
Dmytro Granchar (call sign Dymon) served as a tank crew commander in the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, he was adored by the infantrymen and feared by the enemy. In Russian social networks, there was even an announcement about a reward of 25 thousand dollars "for the head of Damon". He was a fearless fighter who always rushed to attack.
Dmytro died in October 2022. We tell his story.
In every battle, the antenna of Damon's tank was decorated with the Ukrainian flag
Dmytro was born in 1982 in Poti, Georgia. His father is Bulgarian, and his mother is Russian. After the birth of the son, the family moved to Odesa (where the father is from). It was here that Dmytro grew up, received an education, and worked as an electrician at a local utility company.
In 2015, he was mobilized, and then remained in the army on contract. Passed the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone, received the status of a participant in hostilities. Although Dmytro did not have Ukrainian blood in his veins (he himself considered himself a Bulgarian), his years of service in the Armed Forces showed that he was a true patriot of Ukraine. In every battle, the antenna of Damon's tank was decorated with the Ukrainian flag.
Dmytro's regular contract ended in October 2021, but he extended it for another year. And a few months later, a full-scale war began.
The tank unit of the 128th brigade was involved in heavy fighting from the first days of the Russian invasion. On the third day of the war, the crew of the T-72, in which Diemon was the gunner, stopped the enemy column in the direction of Zaporizhzhia and came under the fire of ATRK (anti-tank missile system).
The tank was hit by two rockets, the crew commander (who was also the tank company commander) was seriously wounded. Damon, together with the driver-mechanic, despite the concussions, pulled out the wounded officer under enemy fire and handed him over to the evacuation team, thus saving his life.
Five days after the injury, Damon entered the battle again as a tank commander. He accompanied the movement of an infantry unit near the village of Myrne, saw an enemy column and immediately opened fire.
As a result of that battle, Russian BTR-80, MTLB (armored tracked tractor), URAL truck with ammunition and Russian infantry were destroyed by direct hits. The remnants of the enemy fled in panic, not having time to return fire, Damon's tank and crew remained unharmed.
Shortly after this battle, Demon's tank, together with the infantry, raided the enemy's rear and engaged in battle with a Russian Army unit near the village of Dorozhnyanka. The result of the battle was the destruction of enemy BMP-3, MTLB and infantrymen.
At the beginning of the full-scale war, there were only a few experienced crew commanders who had gone through actual combat operations in the tank battalion. Therefore, Dmytro Granchar, in the breaks between battles, taught the newcomers how to choose the right position, maneuver, and use different types of camouflage. These trainings saved the life of more than one fighter.
"Daemon always led the fight from the hatch, he was completely fearless…"
At the end of the summer of last year, the 128th brigade was transferred to another direction - to liberate the Kherson region. Bloody attacks began, and tank crews were attached to mountain assault infantry units. In the first assault, Damon was also involved.
This is how the mountain stormtroopers describe that battle:
- Our platoon was reinforced by two tanks, in particular, Damon's crew. They worked very filigree - they constantly moved, changed positions and alternated fire, which did not stop even during the replenishment of ammunition. Directly behind the landing occupied by the Russians, a dirt road leading to the village began, along which a column of infantry on board vehicles moved to help the enemy. Our tank hit it with a high-explosive fragmentation projectile, from one shot there were minus twenty 200s and 300s. During the battle, the tankers also burned a Russian armored personnel carrier - they worked very efficiently.
During the first assault, it was possible to knock out the Russians only from the landing part. The main battle followed by the liberation of the village took place two days later.
- We rushed to the enemy positions, lowering mine trawls to clear the passages for the infantry, - remembers that battle, a tank mechanic-driver Victor (call sign Pinocchio) . - The stormtroopers were supposed to be covered by the BMP, but after several rounds from the automatic cannon, the mechanic was poisoned by powder gases and could not move. Therefore, the infantrymen followed our tank.
On the move, the T-72 continuously covered the enemy with fire from a cannon and a machine gun, and when it approached the positions by a hundred meters, they began to hit it with RPGs (manual anti-tank grenade launchers). Daemon stepped out of the hatch and directed the battle directly. It could even be taken from a machine gun, but he never paid attention to that.
- Before each battle, the commander asked the infantrymen for several grenade launchers and put them near him in the tower, - Viktor continues . - During that assault, when we approached the enemy by 20 meters, the first RPG grenade hit our frontal armor. I was only slightly shaken, tinnitus appeared and that was it. The tank continued the battle, although we only had three projectiles left - two cumulative and an armor-piercing one. We shot with them the calculation of the enemy ZU-shka (anti-aircraft installation), which was working on ground targets. A few seconds later, a second RPG shot. Damon managed to see the grenade launcher and shouted to me: "Left!" At the last second, I managed to make a sharp turn, thanks to which it was not difficult to hit the grenade - only the electronics failed and the gun partially jammed.
The tank reached the end of the landing, released a smoke screen and rushed back - to reload the ammunition. He flew at 7 speeds and even jumped in the air on one of the climbs.
The gunner managed to wedge the gun on the move, during reloading it was so hot that it was impossible to touch. The cannon did not fire the last projectiles, but "spit out". But immediately after reloading, the T-72 rushed back to the landing and continued the battle, firing at enemy positions from a cannon and a machine gun on the way. These were very good fortifications and the Russians behaved professionally.
Later it became known that the assault aircraft of the 128th brigade was opposed by the landing-assault brigade from Ussuriysk - regular units of the russian army, which were not going to retreat or surrender.
- We approached the positions at close range, the last of our shells hit them with direct fire from a distance of ten meters, - says Viktor . - And then Damon pulled out a grenade launcher from the tower, jumped on the enemy trench from above and started shooting the enemies with his machine gun. When he fired his horns, the gunner and I gave him ours. Only after that, the Russians began to flee, and our infantry captured their positions...
All the foot soldiers adored Damon, it was like a concrete wall behind him
After the first assaults, the brigade moved rapidly forward, liberating one settlement after another. On the approaches to one of the villages, the tank blew up on an anti-tank mine and got stuck. However, Damon from the spot continued to cover the infantry with cannon and machine gun fire, his support helped to free the village faster.
At the beginning of October, there was a new assault on the village captured by the Russians.
- We took the first enemy line, our gunner then put down a lot of infantry with a cannon and a machine gun, - Victor recalls . - He shot the enemies at close range, I saw how after the hits from the machine gun, pieces of the body flew away from the Russians, and they tried to shoot back for some time. Apparently, they were under the influence of some drugs. It looked like a zombie movie. Our infantry then took many prisoners. And when returning to reload, the tank ran into a "sandwich" (several buried anti-tank mines stacked on top of each other). It was a very powerful explosion, I was "turned off", I was barely able to regain consciousness. We camouflaged the tank and waited for the evacuation. There were a lot of Russian mines around, so Damon deployed columns of our equipment so that they would not run into a minefield.
The damaged tank was repaired - both goosenecks were replaced, and a new ice rink was installed. After a severe concussion, the driver-mechanic had a severe loss of vision.
- We had to drive about 20 kilometers to the subdivision, but I saw practically nothing, - says Viktor . - Then Damon said: "I will be your eyes, I will show you the way." And so we went. Damon was also badly contused, not for the first time, but he never went to the doctors, he always went into battle. The enemy knew him very well.
We even found a $25,000 reward for "Demon's head" on hostile social networks and periodically poked fun at him. He laughed in response and said that it was necessary to wait until the price rose to a million.
Four days after the repair, during the liberation of the village of Nova Kamianka in the Kherson region, Demon's tank was hit by an ATGM. The rocket hit the tower from the side of the command post, Dmytro Granchar died on the spot.
- Dmytro was desperate from childhood, he could not sit still, - says Dymon's brother Oleksiy. - The Armed Forces became a native element for him. The brother rarely got to come home (even before the full-scale war), but he was always in touch with his relatives, he loved his son Artem very much. We talked with Dmytro every day, the last time was on October 6. The brother said: "I will be out of touch for a couple of days, don't worry, I'm fine." And the next day he died.
Dmytro Granchar was buried in his native village of Teplytsia in Odesa. State flags were lowered along the route of the funeral cortege, residents of the community knelt down.
- I remember very well that assault during the liberation of Kherson Region, - recalls the fighter of the mountain assault unit Vasyl (callsign Buivol) . - The assault began unsuccessfully - the "beha", which was supposed to cover us, did not go, and we ended up in an open field in front of well-fortified positions of the Russians. They shot us with direct fire from machine guns and grenade launchers.
We lay down in the grass and could not raise our heads under the barrage of enemy fire. And then Damon's tank rushed to the Russian positions. The tank was hit with a grenade launcher, and he and the commander sticking out of the hatch flew headlong. The tank climbed into the Russian trenches and began to shoot them at close range with a cannon and a machine gun. When the shells ran out, Damon directly from the hatch began to shoot at the enemies with his machine gun, and then waved his hand at us and shouted: "Forward!" Only then were we able to capture those trenches.
Damon broke the flow of that assault, the Russian paratroopers could not withstand his pressure and ran away, abandoning their weapons. All the foot soldiers adored Daemon, there was no danger for him. We knew that he would cover us under any circumstances, behind him was like a concrete wall.
Yaroslav Halas , an officer of the separate mountain-assault Transcarpathian brigade, specially for Ukrainian Prawda. Life