Border guard Mykhailo recounts intense fighting and evacuations during battles in Vovchansk

According to the defender, fighting near Vovchansk was continuous. When Ukrainian forces attacked the invaders, the Russians would retreat to “lick their wounds” for about an hour before returning and resuming the fight. There were times when Ukrainian troops could rest during the day because the Russians suffered heavy casualties or were killed.

“Before they went, we already knew. We targeted their tanks, artillery, Grad systems — everything they had. Whatever I didn’t hear, I heard there [in Vovchansk],” Mykhailo said.

The terrain in Vovchansk changed every five minutes, the defender said. If troops planned to take cover in a building, they might arrive to find only ruins, requiring quick adaptation. Mykhailo recalled one instance when he had to carry a wounded soldier to an evacuation point for 23 days.

“What we saw, that’s where we hid. The mission was to hold the position, observe, and report coordinates — what you see and hear. On the fifth day, our observation post was bombed. We moved to a nearby position. Wounded soldiers were nearby. Two could walk on their own, but the third had a broken leg and couldn’t move. Our task was to get him to evacuation. We carried him for 23 days, and on the 24th day, he died in our arms,” he said.

Mykhailo said the distance they needed to cover was only three kilometers, but they could not move during the day. They traveled at night in anti-drone cloaks, which could only be worn for 20–30 minutes before overheating.

“Drones were guiding us, we could see nothing. We were told, ‘10 meters forward, five meters right.’ We crossed the river with him [the deceased defender] and six hours later a vehicle came for us,” he said.

He also recalled an instance when he was on position observing for enemy movements and a Russian soldier came within a few meters.

“Three drowned, two crawled ashore and got lost. The men acted as if they were at home, came up and said, ‘We’re friendly, we’re reconnaissance, we got lost, guys help us’ [speaking Russian]. Well, we helped them,” Mykhailo said.

The soldier added that among the invaders were both 18–20-year-olds and men in their 50s. He noted that all Russians had the same motivation for going to war — money.