National Guardsman describes Russians abandoning everything, including their dead, during Kharkiv Oblast counteroffensive
A National Guardsman with the alias Marker took part in the counteroffensive on the Slobozhanshchyna front. He is an officer in the Spartan Brigade.
Now the National Guardsman has shared his memories of the Ukrainian army’s success on the Kharkiv front.
Marker says he had been waiting for the counteroffensive since the first day of the full-scale invasion.
"I expected the counteroffensive from day one, but we are the military, so I waited for the order, and when we entered Udy [a village in Kharkiv Oblast – ed.] and saw how the enemy abandoned everything – their Cargo 200s [i.e. dead soldiers], property, ammunition and weapons – and ran away from us, I realised that’s how it would continue to be in the future," says the soldier.
Marker adds that it then became clear that the Russian army’s claim to be the "world's second most powerful" is just a myth.
He recalls seeing the Russians’ positions being destroyed right in front of him, meaning that a lot of valuable things were left for the Ukrainian military to seize as the Russians retreated.
"After we entered Kupiansk, enemy equipment was discovered and our guys took possession of an entire KAMAZ truck full of ammunition. Later that evening, we were ordered to advance to Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. When we entered, everything was still on fire, and there were a lot of dead Russians. Then we went to Kivsharivka, and from there to Stelmakhivka. We entered Stelmakhivka and took up positions, and the enemy was on the other side of the river," Marker noted.
After liberating these settlements, his brothers-in-arms, together with other soldiers, moved to Novoosynove, Hlushkivka and Bohuslavka before gaining a foothold in Novoselivske.
The Russians made continual attempts to storm the Ukrainian forces there, but no one gave up their positions.
Marker says he was surprised about how openly they were received in the liberated territories.
"Especially when we liberated villages, people would run out with flags to welcome us and they’d immediately say: 'There's an empty house over there, the occupiers lived there, it's a good idea to check there.' That is, they helped us straight away, telling us where the enemy might be," the National Guardsman says.
Marker says little about his personal motivation, but he remains certain that now it is the same for everyone – to liberate our territories and raise the Ukrainian flag there.
Earlier, we reported on a 55-year-old NGU driver who returned from working in Italy to fight in Ukraine.
We also brought you the story of the triplets serving in the National Guard of Ukraine who defended Kyiv Oblast from the invaders.
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