Ukrainian Soldier Blew Up Bridge Despite Not Having Time To Leave
As Russian forces continue their advance upon the neighbouring country of Ukraine, its people aren’t about to let them in so easily.
Stories have begun filtering out about the defiant resistance of Ukrainians, to the extent of even sacrificing their lives.
In a story worthy of a movie plot, a Ukrainian soldier embodied this spirit when blowing up a bridge to slow down the Russian forces. Sadly, he lost his life while doing so.
For his bravery, he could receive a posthumous award from his country.
Sacrifice at bridge with Crimea
The heroic deed was shared by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a Facebook post on Friday (25 Feb).
The incident happened in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, close to the border with Crimea – which Russia annexed in 2014.
The area was described as “one of the most difficult places” in Ukraine to defend from the Russians.
Bridge to Crimea had to be blown up
According to the post, this was where a battalion of Ukrainian marines met one of the 1st invaders.
To stop Russian tanks from advancing, it was decided that the Henichesk bridge had to be blown up.
From Google Maps, the bridge was 1 of many entry points from Crimea into the rest of Ukraine.
Vitaliy Skakun Volodymyrovych, an engineer of a separate battalion, volunteered to perform this task, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said.
He didn’t have time to leave
Mines were installed in the bridge to blow it up, but for some reason, Volodymyrovych didn’t have time to leave.
According to his “brothers in arms”, he got in touch with them just before he blew up the bridge, informing them that he was about to do it.
They heard an explosion soon after, and the bridge was gone – and sadly, so was he.
He bought time for unit
Volodymyrovych’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
According to the post, his heroic deed “significantly slowed” the advance of enemy forces.
This allowed the unit to redeploy and organise their defenses.
If not for Volodymyrovych, Russian forces may have made it further than they already had, endangering the lives of his fellow soldiers and citizens.
Hailed as a hero
In the Facebook post, which was shared 30,000 times and attracted 9,400 comments, Volodymyrovych was hailed as a hero.
Many also sent condolences to his loved ones.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces also said that an application will be sent to High Command for him to receive a posthumous state award.
They warned “Russian occupiers” that Ukrainians will “fight while we live” and “the earth will burn under your feet”.
May he rest in peace
Sacrificing your life for your country is something that may sound possible only in movies, but for Ukrainians, they’re literally doing this every day.
Besides soldiers, even ordinary citizens are showing bravery in the face of likely annihilation, and that’s something worthy of respect.
Kudos to Volodymyrovych for his valiant actions in the service of his country. May he now rest in peace.
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Featured image adapted from General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook and ukrinform.net.
