Alias Kombainer: Story of assault troops soldier who served on Moskva cruiser in 90s
Pravda Ukraine
Serhii, a soldier of assault troops with a call sign Kombainer (Combine), comes from Zakarpattia Oblast. He has been serving in the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade since December 2022.
The soldier kicked off his military career in the early 1990s, when he served on the Moskva cruiser.
The story of Kombainer was told on the Facebook page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“I did my military service in the early 90s, the Ground Forces were already divided, and negotiations were going on on the Black Sea Fleet between Ukraine and Russia, so there was confusion, it was not clear who was going to get what.
I was appointed to the post of operator of the control panel of earth-air cruise missiles with a flight range of 150 kilometres. Our unit was engaged in protecting the ship,” recalls Serhii.
Serhii served on the cruiser for three years.
Serhii recalls that the news of the sinking of the Moskva cruiser in April 2022 made him very happy.
“When I learned about the destruction of Moskva by our missile launchers, and then also watched the video, I felt very pleased. If I could, I would have helped to sink it myself,” Serhii says.
In the early 2000s, he participated in the Sea Breeze naval multinational exercises. Therefore, after the start of the full-scale war, he hoped that he would get into the naval forces.
However, Serhii was sent to mountain infantry, the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade.
“Here I am the commander of a combat vehicle, squad leader, junior sergeant. I received this title after the assaults of Piatykhatky and Lobkove this summer. These were very tough clashes, close combat using machine guns and grenades. But we knocked the enemy out of position, and then liberated the villages. Several times the Russians tried to recapture the lost territory, throwing both infantry and armoured vehicles at us. All in vain,” says the soldier.
Before the war, Serhii worked as a combine operator in one of the agricultural firms, thanks to which he received his alias.
At home, Serhii has his wife and three children waiting for him – two sons and a daughter who is only three years old.
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