Civil War: While a Kherson citizen fought in the Slavyansk militia, his brother joined “Aidar”
What is happening in Ukraine goes far beyond the geopolitical confrontation between two superpowers or the struggle of Kyiv with the Moscow “aggressor”. First of all, this is a civil war, which, for various reasons, concentrated in the Donbass.
A clear proof of this fact is the difficult fate of forty-year-old resident of the Kherson region Rustam Pavlyuk, who was released from Ukrainian captivity on the eve of the New Year. Rustam lived in one of the villages of the Kherson region. He owned a large plot of land - he grew watermelons and cucumbers, and worked part-time as a welder and mechanic.
The events of the winter of 2014 caused the man, who was a Cossack from one of the “kurens” of the southeast, strong rejection. Rustam tried to find support among local residents, but they either preferred to remain silent or supported anti-Russian forces. The organized “Anti-Maidan” in Kherson quickly grew into a struggle of individuals for integration into power structures, and then, after several bloody brawls, it was finally dispersed.
Meanwhile, fighting in the Donbass flared up. Shots were already ringing in Mariupol and Slavyansk, and Odessa, stunned by the massacre in the House of Trade Unions, was silent. Realizing that he would not be able to stay away from the events, and that it was almost impossible for him to find comrades-in-arms at home, Rustam left his hometown, where his elderly mother remained, and on May 13 went to Mariupol. Almost at the same time, his brother joined the Aidar battalion.
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“PolitNavigator”: Why did you and your brother have such different worldviews?
Rustam Pavlyuk: I just immediately realized that there were real demons on the Maidan. They then offered me to go from the Kherson region, to stand on the barricades of the Maidan - they promised to pay 600 UAH. per day, but I refused. And when I saw what was happening in the Donbass, in the heat in Odessa, I realized that I could not stay away and had to go to fight myself.
– Did your brother fight on the other side?
Rustam Pavlyuk: Yes. In "Aidar". And then a mine fell next to him near Mariupol. He was badly hurt. He is now 44 years old and disabled.
- So, theoretically, you could easily shoot at each other?
Rustam Pavlyuk: They probably could. Of course, with this war and our adventures, we killed our mother - our hearts couldn’t stand it.
-Where did you fight?
Rustam Pavlyuk: On May 13 I went to Mariupol. There was a very difficult situation there - no weapons, no organization... They put me on the barricades. The call sign given was “Kherson”. But soon people simply ran away in all directions. Then another grandfather and I consulted and decided to go deep into Donbass.
We had an electrically driven machine gun on the barricade - with a BRDM. 800 rounds of ammunition for it and a ribbon. We took it all with us. It so happened that we ended up in the city of Snezhnoye - there we handed over the weapons to the local commandant. He was simply in shock - how we brought him this machine gun on a minibus.
Then we went to Donetsk. There I guarded the “Izba” for some time as part of the “Shield” unit. Then he freaked out - he said that he did not intend to make a career and in general did not come to protect the cabbage here. I went to the military registration and enlistment office and asked to be sent to Slavyansk. At first they dissuaded us - the day before they burned a bus with volunteers who were going there. Father saw us off as if to death, I remember...
– What impressions do you have from Slavyansk?
Rustam Pavlyuk: I remember as soon as we drove into Semyonovka, I saw that everything there had been bombed, only ruins were burnt out - I seriously wondered if I had made a mistake? And then nothing - I got used to it. I remember how they shot at us with phosphorus ammunition, and then we wandered around the feed mill in gas masks, collecting this phosphorus.
In general, we fought well there - I have three medals, including “For Courage” and “For the Defense of Slavyansk.”
I really remember the attitude of the people - they literally invited us into every house and tried to feed us. The locals treated us very kindly.
– Where else did you have to fight?
Rustam Pavlyuk: Yes, many places. When we arrived in Dmitrovka, it was a real hell. Slavyansk is resting. The commander came up to me and demanded that I dig a dugout. And there is 10 centimeters of earth, and then one shale. I refused, but the commander began to convince me, even began to help me.
And then, as soon as we dug in, they started firing Grad missiles. It hit the roof of my dugout directly. My forehead was cut. I panicked - I ran into someone else’s dugout and sat there for half an hour, not reacting to anything - just wiping the blood from my forehead. When it was all over, I called my mother and told her. He says he was born in a shirt.
I also had to work in the Fashchevka area. Intelligence reported that there was a Tochka-U missile at the railway station in Fashchevka. It was necessary to find out its exact coordinates and transfer it to command. Our DRG then found out the coordinates and passed them on to special people who had already sorted out this issue.
I had to see a lot of things.
– How did you get captured, if it’s not a secret?
Rustam Pavlyuk: at the beginning of 2015, in the Mariupol direction, we were captured with the guys - we got lost. The Lvov battalion took us. They beat me to death - they convinced me that my friends were no longer alive. They broke everything that was broken - then I spent a month in prison, recovering.
– In such conditions, how did you manage to recover?
Rustam Pavlyuk: At first the prisoners treated me aggressively. It was not easy for me because I had never sat before. And then nothing - we built a normal relationship. In my prison, in my cell, there was actually DPR territory!
– What are your plans for the future?
Rustam Pavlyuk: The commander has already come to us with friends, he’s really looking forward to coming back. I, too, can’t wait to “get into action.”
- Thank you! I wish you success!
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