Artem Yevtushenko: National Guard Support Forces Group Leader

Our guest for this Victory Commanders series interview is Artem Yevtushenko, Group Leader at the National Guard Support Forces 4th Frontier Operational Brigade. Artem has nearly two hundred people under his command. They plant mines and clean up territories, build fortifications and crossings. Artem was talking about sappers’ job amid war, how the Russians set explosive traps in civilian buildings, how long it will take to demine all of Ukrainian territories, and how much TNT is needed to blow up the Crimea Bridge.

- Almost all our interviews start with the same question that has united all Ukrainians and changed everyone's life, divided it into “before” and “after”: how did the full-fledge invasion begin for you?

- For me, the full-fledge invasion began when I was already in the area of combat tasks, we were making preparations for rotation operations. On the night of February 23 to 24, I was busy unloading my equipment... Somewhere around 4 a.m, we finished all the work and were already getting ready for bed, because the next day was expected to be hard. At 5:20 a.m. a general gathering is called - I thought it was for training, that the battalion tactical group commander wanted to train us before moving to positions, to conduct some actions, see who works and how, what orders are followed and how, etc. d. Then they told us to deploy on the terrain, take our firing positions: equipment, weapons, personnel; spread out in the forest, take our assigned sectors and control our assigned directions.

He divided us into groups and departed for the headquarters. What to do, what orders to perform? - And here it begins... aviation, MLRS systems are heard working somewhere far away, it is not clear what is happening, we need a go on a rotation, but it turns out that war has got underway. Everyone have dispersed away ... are lining up; vehicle columns, aviation, there are hits, explosions, technicians dispersed away, took their positions. I was uncertain where to run. In the end, we ultimately got together, saw what was going on, where we are, what we are, where we are supposed to move. We begin moving to Novoaidar. Intelligence teams were already working there, the first battles began. Novoaidar, one might say, is a key city, the one that is expected to be the focus for enemy attacks after Luhanska village, after Shchastya and Starobilsk. We are taking the heights, infantry from the 1st Company immediately come under heavy fire from MLRS, there are losses, we continue working. That’s how the war began for me.

My pregnant wife is calling me from Irpin where she was at the time, asking what to do, where to run for safety, what to do next? I tell her: wait, the war is out here too, I don’t know what to do. My parents are calling (they are in Kharkiv) asking the same questions of what to do, where to flee. I say: wait, allow me some time to look into what’s going on so I could answer your questions, could tell what you should do next.

I saw what is happening in Kyiv, vehicle convoys are moving, the adversary forces are advancing toward Kharkiv, advancing from all directions, and we have to carry out our combat tasks. The personnel who were performing tasks in Luhanska village quickly came together and left away; we were tasked to take control over that direction to provide them a safe passage. The enemy were already in a position to encircle us from the rear ..., bring in place new battle formations and continue with their advance. That’s how the war got started.

- What about your family? When and what answers did you give to the questions from your loved ones, and your wife in Irpin especially?

- In the first three days, I still was able to find time to call, talk to them. But later I just couldn’t find time for this, was busy working on that axis. Then the order came in to get prepared to mine and blow up the bridges. We were waiting for our comrades to withdraw from Luhanska, and the brigade that was deployed there, awaiting us for a rotation, came together to move toward the axis where we were working already.

- Let's retrospect a little bit. You have been in military service since 2012…

- Yes, I completed my military service while serving in the Donetsk region, then went to the Internal Forces Academy in Kharkiv. Upon graduation from the Academy, we were distributed among different military units to serve with. I was assigned to military unit No. 3018, which, in 2017, was set up compatible with NATO forces. This post-graduation assignment…it was a pride to get to serve into a unit like that. Why? Because it was manned entirely with contracted soldiers, rather than conscripts or enlisted personnel. It did not serve the functions of patrol police or security personnel guarding courts, but was a unit that performed combat tasks in Ukraine’s eastern regions, and performed them at a high level of effectiveness. ... It was our 3018th Brigade, known at that time as Azov.

- You are currently serving as a Group Commander at the Support Forces. What are your duties as a leader? What does this position mean to you?

- First of all, you are the commander, you have subordinates under your supervision, personnel whom you need to train constantly, improve their skills, while at the same time constantly enhancing professional competencies of your own. Within my Support Forces Group, I have an engineering and sapper company consisting of sappers, a barricade platoon, support engineers, and technicians.

- You have more than 200 personnel under your command…

- The current complement is 160 personnel, which is 60 personnel short of the total staff complement of 220.

- Given this large number of personnel under your command, what principles are you guided by as a leader, how do you manage this?

- I am guided by the concept that we are a family, one big family. If you got into my unit, you’ll see that we are working as one. There is brotherhood, there is the performance of combat missions, and you are serving with a unit where you are valued, where you are known of.

- I know that your soldiers are deployed on several different axes of battle…

- Yes, combat missions are currently being carried out on Siversk axis, in the settlement of Spirne, on Lyman axis, as well as in Makiivka.

- How do you manage the teamwork?

- There are commanding officers assigned to each specific axis, there are seniors in each group; they perform combat tasks, manage personnel in performing combat tasks; and so they are working with me directly. Where I am absent from an area of ​​combat missions (for reasons like an assignment or a training course somewhere), I all the time maintain contact with the officers, the groups’ seniors who perform tasks there, I am constantly in contact by phone or via SMS messaging. They report to me what tasks have been completed, what tasks the unit was assigned, what further actions the personnel is supposed to take, etc.

- You said that your unit is like a family, one big family, that is, it’s about trust among other things. Can your soldiers trust you?

-- They trust me as much as I trust each soldier. I tell every soldier that I need people who are supposed to think on their own, work on their own, move away from the Soviet-era terminology like I am your commander and you have to do what I tell you to do. That’s not the case; instead I ask each of my subordinates: what do you think of this, how do you see it, how do you think a task should be performed? If he is successful in a specific area of competence, I let him continue to develop it further. If he says something wrong, I help him... And he already works like a part, a small part to our unit.

- You mentioned the remnants of Soviet-era mentality, meaning there are some remaining among our military…

- The lingering legacy from Soviet-era military practices still remains in place, but we are moving away from it as much as possible. I personally am not a fan of those Soviet-style manipulations, even where it concerns my job, I depart from those Soviet intentions, I implement more of intentions of my own -- modern, sensible, more NATO-like, if you can say so, and we are already working using the algorithm that we’ve developed.

- What about innovations?

- We are moving further away from Soviet-era practices where mines were emplaced mostly by hand, in favor of a new technique such as remote minelaying.

- Have you implemented this technique already?

-- Yes, we have. We are now organizing a battalion incorporating a remote minelaying platoon, a detachment of large platforms... Large platforms carrying anti-tank mines, and we install minefields remotely, that is, we can install them on approaches to a tactical edge, where the enemy’s logistics can be threatened. In this way we save our personnel, save our soldiers, but we also use equipment. There will be organized ground drone squads; these will travel over a terrain to lay mines immediately on the ground; everything will be watched and recorded by UAVs, minefields will be mapped, and the working map will be sent to the headquarters. By doing so we contribute greatly to minelaying operations and to lifesaving of our personnel.

- We often hear that the enemy does everything in military textbook fashion. Does that mean to say that, where there is talk about the remnants of Soviet legacy, about innovations, they adhere to Soviet-era standards, right?

- Where it comes to installing minefields, they are more tended to do so as old books teach them how to.

- Are we moving away from this practice?

- We are moving away, but we can't reject it all together. Why? Because the base must be preserved in place. Minelaying is done in steps, mines are laid in several rows at intervals of 3–4 meters, for example, depending on the type of minefield to be laid: if it’s an anti-tank minefield, there will be two rows laid, three rows, four rows, etc. Mines are laid in steps, from one mine to another. There is no need to deviate from this technique. If we lay mines remotely using an UAV, we also do it in steps. But where the enemy gets into minefields we laid, they can no longer rely on textbooks on minelaying, because the mines can be scattered randomly, and they may not discover them, because they did demining work, think there are no mines left, everything is clear. Mines are laid in three rows at a step of three to four meters. They pass 6 meters wide, 30 meters deep, and therefore think there are no mines left. But there may be some that turned and fell, went underground. They may not notice it, and when an enemy’s vehicle drives by, it will blow up.

- Regarding new personnel. What do you, as a commander, focus on in training newcomers?

- When a civilian or a soldier transferred from another unit comes, I talk to him, ask questions: what do you know, what did you do in civilian life? And he tells. If he knows how to work with machinery, tractors, harvesters, etc., he will be sent to serve with an engineering subunit...

- Sappers are always the first, followed by others. What is it like to be ahead of everyone, knowing that others are following you?

- First of all, it is a very difficult task to be the first, but a sapper never goes first all alone. Instead, he is accompanied by intelligence support, cover-up support, other types of support. Why is that so? If a sapper goes first all alone, he will be only fixated on the front edge, on lifting mines, one by one, meter by meter; one and a half meters, maximum two, he removes the mines, but does not observe what is going on on his horizon, where the enemy is, who is following him, etc. The sapper always works accompanied by a scout: a scout follows him, providing a cover-up, while the sapper clears mines, makes a safe passage for the main or reserve forces to go - that's how it works. If a sapper goes first all alone, he will be dead, because it is very difficult to do this job by alone.

- So this is teamwork, isn’t it?

- Yes, this is teamwork.

- They say that a sapper can mistake only once. What is it like to realize that this mistake could be fatal?

- You must not think that this will be your last job, you must work, must do your job and not think that I am doing something wrong or inappropriate, that I can get blown up. You don't need to think like that, but at the same time, fear should be there, because where there is no fear, you are going to die; insuring yourself is a victory by itself, if you like.

- In the context of the teamwork you’ve mentioned, how confident are you in your comrades, or, perhaps, there were occurrences that made you distrust those people?

- There will be no other choice, you have to do your missions, have to understand that you are working collectively, working together with intelligence/reconnaissance. In absence of intelligence support, there will be an infantryman, he will take up a machine gun, take a firing position to cover you against potential threats, you will carry out demining or, vice versa, lay mines on the position he holds. And he must understand that sappers will do their job, I will help, it will be better for him to stay at his firing position, he knows that from below, if the enemy advances, he can get blown up, but will finish the work with his machine gun or automatic rifle he has in possession.

- Do you remember the moment you first stepped on a minefield? What did you feel? Have these feelings changed over time and how?

- Yes, I remember, it was in 2019, in Zaitseve village; our brigade was performing combat missions on Svitlodar Arc... We were 300 meters away from the enemy’s positions. Chief Company sergeant and me were performing combat tasks on that axis; we were tasked to secure our position to make sure the enemy cannot approach it from that side which we could not control; for that, it was necessary to crawl into the gray zone to set up tripwire mines.

We crawled into the position, took off everything except bulletproof vests, helmets, a mine, a sapper’s shovel and other things used in minelaying. And we are already 80, 100 meters away from our positions, they are no longer in sight. I say: what do we do next? - Let's continue crawling - he says, - let’s lay it here. And I hear - there are separs (Donbas insurgents – ed.) out there. What shall we do? I hear them digging a hideout or a dugout out there, or just reinforcing their firing position. The whole area is burnt out, the visibility is zero; you don’t raise your head so that not to be discovered, you are crawling towards the place the tripwire mine should be placed, put up a piece of wood, then tighten the tripwire... My comrade is already laying the mine. We installed the mine, carried out follow-up procedures to place the other end of the tripwire, then we retreated. And at that moment I thought: now, if some kind of "movement" starts, we can be shot through, because they can’t see us, can’t see where to fire at, because there is an aiming deadzone. That’s to say, the enemy is there, we are there, too, you can open fire, the enemy will hear us firing and will start firing back; roughly speaking, we can never return alive. And again, you cannot get up and run to your positions, because ours will not be able to see you to cover you, but the enemy will, because we're closer to them than to ours; we had to escape back to our position by slopes, so that ours could see us...

What could we do? You get back, fall into the trench, the adrenaline is off the charts, you think with relief: well, we did it! Mission is complete! And then a firefight got started, someone saw someone somewhere, they are already starting to shoot from their positions. We then say: guys, you continue waging the war, and we have already finished our job, we are returning. And we are returning after the combat mission is done, and I was a senior lieutenant, and the other guy was the chief Company sergeant.

And at first, when I got to them, they used to say: you, a senior lieutenant, are young, capable of anything. But I was learning. I told them: show me, teach me how; I wasn't wary of asking questions, didn’t fear that I, second in command of a company (he was under my command), I didn’t fear to communicate with him. I say: teach me, show how, I will learn, will work. And that’s how it turned around. Then came the first moment, my first exit for a mission, and my first impression was "wow!"

- Regarding demining: in which areas are you currently working, and what is the situation like out there?

- We are currently more busy doing minelaying, since the enemy is advancing, they are having success, we are more focused on remote minelaying. Again, we are modifying the mines at our disposal, because the standard ones are already in short supply, we are implementing our own knowhow, testing and deploying them on the battlefield.

- Can you share some of your knowhow?

- There is a Russian mine known as POM-2. We modified it to make it into the mine we need, made it based on the POM-2 technology, now it is the Ukrainian POM-2, and we use their same weapons against themselves in turn. ...It falls on the ground, locking rings come out, scattering tripwires in four different directions. It secures a specific area of terrain to prevent the enemy from passing through the pass; it triggers when stepped on.

- Tell me what the Russians usually mine, and how they mine. We know that the enemy often modify harmless items to convert them into booby traps.

- I used to come across this problem. We used to discover laptops that were made for opening, discover boxes ...made into explosive traps for sappers, one might say. Someone comes in, and there is a mine, which we can see, that is, an infantryman saw the mine, he immediately says: sappers, handle this. We come up ..., the mine is installed in a way as it supposed to be, in a highly visible place, in such a way, precisely that one cannot avoid looking at what it is about that... When you start processing the mine from the rear side, you will, as one might say, clean it, check it for some traps . And there is a beautiful box laying beside it, and it triggers when moved. That’s why I teach, show how I work, train the personnel. I always carry a long rope called a "cat", you come up, make the ties, then you carry out manipulations to neutralize the mine. And this factor worked out; they came up, tied it, tore it off, the mine didn't trigger, but the box did ... We were hiding in a shelter. Because, in addition to the manipulations, tying, tearing off, you also need to prepare a place to hide in the event it works out.

I also encountered booby traps modified from light bulbs. Groups working in the Kyiv region, after it was liberated, people from my unit working in de-occupied areas came across situations like that. There is a seemingly harmless light bulb, you screw it in, then push the switch - and it blows up. It was a civilian house, civilians lived in it, even there we discovered traps like that.

- You have gained quite an experience as a sapper. If we compare it as it was at the beginning of the full-fledged invasion, in 2022, and now, how the enemy's minelaying tactics changed? Are they using any new technology?

- The tactics used by the enemy has changed, on the one hand, but on the other, this tactics has remained as it was before the full-scale invasion. Prior to the all-out invasion, it was a trench warfare with a clear line of contact.  Our position is here, the enemy’s position is there, and there were firefights between these two positions. The work was harder, both ours and theirs, done in the way the textbook says it should. Yes, there is a site assigned for minelaying and nothing else, be it a controlled action, or we install flare mines so that to provide cover for our positions.

Now the tactics has changed, both ours and theirs. They are learning from us, looking at how we work, how we do remote minelaying, they are now more focused on laying mines remotely. They... paint mines in camouflage colors and then drop them into entrenchments, trenches, dugouts, that is, the war has become more modern, we are increasingly starting to work remotely. But we must go one step ahead of them, need to develop more of our competencies, I reiterate it again, not be afraid of drawing on their experience, put this experience into practical use while improving the experience of our own.

- If we talk about clearing de-occupied territories of mines, what threat does this pose to civilian population, particularly in the Kyiv region, where the fighting was waged, and in other areas now liberated from occupying Russian forces?

- The threat is really great, very great, even in the Kyiv region. Why? Because in this particular region, the war was fast going, it started quickly and ended just as quickly. There were mines installed by our forces -- anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, barricades were set up, minefields that were not properly marked on the maps to alert allied forces. Then the location of these minefields was simply forgotten. Russian forces, when advancing or retreating, mined the areas chaotically. What is chaotic mining like? This is where a field is randomly strewn with mines, in a way not described in textbooks. They just didn't have time for that. In the villages where demining had taken place, this was done in a more meticulous fashion. Why? Because civilians are remaining there, there are farmers, there is agricultural machinery that should work in the fields, etc., and so that region was cleaned on a priority basis. But there are still forests and meadows randomly scattered with anti-personnel mines, petal mines. There are lots of them: POM-2’s, POM-3’s, but they have self-destruction features. It’s a plus that mines of exactly this type were planted: after 72 hours, a mine is neutralized, self-destroyed.

- If we talk about clearing our territories of mines, how much time and the amount of resources will it take?

- Where the war was waged for a year, it will take up to ten years to clear of mines the areas that saw active combat.

- What about the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the war has dragged on for 10 years now?

- It will take up to 100 years to clean up these areas. And this on condition that active hostilities are brought to a full halt, the fire is ceased, and only after that, we will be able to do demining of the area, utilizing machinery, equipment, as well as human labor, etc.

- You are known to have blown up four bridges over the time of the all-out invasion. Tell us more about it.

- Three bridges and one crossing, to be precise. Yes, we did it... Novoaidar, it was the third day of the full-scale war; it was a major bridge, the main one, some other unit was working there, while we were mining the Old Bridge, which is known as the Old Bridge of Novoaidar. We didn't do the calculations, just brought in TNT boxes, planted them under the bridge and waited for the “blow it up” order to come in. After a full day of waiting (we had to wait until all of ours exit from the other side), the order “detonate it” came in. It was the first bridge that we blew up, and so the emotions were really high.

- Was it more of adrenaline rush or fear?

- It was just job done. There was no fear; it came so fast, I didn't even have time to understand how it happened. At that same time, civilians were moving on bicycles, in vehicles. The order "Blow it up” comes in, and you understand that there may be some civilian people over there now, moving on foot or on a vehicle. I say to the comrade who was with me: look, once the order comes in, make sure the bridge is empty, so we could blew it up safely, so that the job is done accurately. The order "Detonate!" comes in, there is adrenaline, it’s like in an action movie… We load ourselves into armored vehicles, ready to move.  Another team who were waiting for the second bridge to be blown up, we meet them at the road intersection, they say: we are waiting for everyone to exit [from the other side], the main column is still on the way, not everyone have exited yet... And they waited for the main column, the last one, to arrive, and after that they too began work to blow up that second bridge.

- You said that no computations had been done, because there was no time left for this, you had to act immediately. How long was that time -- hours, minutes?

- There was no time left; actually, there was time later, that is, we didn't blow it up right away. At first, we said: OK, we're quickly coming to the site, working, and blowing it up. But because the equipment and personnel who were on the other side had not all returned yet, and therefore there was some delay, we were waiting for the allied unit to return, I don't remember exactly which of the brigades were exiting.  That is, it was then when we had time to calculate, but, basically, we had done even more than was needed to make sure the detonation is a hundred percent successful, and the bridge is folded up.

- What about the other objects you’ve blown up? Which one was the most difficult for you to handle?

- Each blow-up operation is difficult to do, an especially so if in enemy held territory.

- Did that happen too?

- Not exactly in enemy territory. It was a gray zone, if we can say so. Our troops had already left away, the enemy forces had come in; there was a bridge across a river, which had to be get blown up. It was not prepared for detonation, a comprehensive operation was being planned to that end.  At that time, I was working with (don't remember exactly) the 3rd or 8th Special Operations Regiment (these guys were just great, it was very nice working with them). We had met them two days before this operation began to be planned for; we looked at what we had at our disposal to find out that there were too little explosives for that operation. That is, the bridge needed to be blown up, but we had no time to do the calculations, and there were not as much explosives as we would have liked.

We had worked with them, they said to us that they would undertake intelligence, preparation fire, and that’s it. We are already entering the site (it was in a 300-meter gray zone), see the bridge, such a solid railway bridge. Actually, there were two of them there, and we had explosives just for one, roughly speaking. We fly under the bridge, I do the calculation, see where the weakest places are, that's it, we work, the group leader, Lev, who was also there, says: hurry, we don't have much time, we have to work. Our "bird" is in the air, intelligence is coming in, artillery guns are working providing fire cover-up. It all is happening so fast, so crazy, vehicles are flying in there, we drop anti-tank mines, TNT boxes, I tell what needs to be laid down, that I have cover. I climb to the highest position where the support beams go, and I see that the soldier who covered me is two meters below me, that is, he cannot see what is happening out there. But I can see people walking there, then I say: guys, if they start shooting at me now, you won't even be able to cover me with fire. Why? Because you can't see them, we don't have time left; grab the explosives and let's plant them. We are working, laying the explosive charges, doing the calculations, laying the first portion of the explosive charges, the follow-up portion, connecting the explosive charges to the detonating cord. Because of the lack of time, we were not enabled to detonate it several times, we needed to detonate it once and in such a way that the bridge falls, but there was not enough TNT to make it fall down. Everything had worked out as planned... We completed the operation, set the remote detonation mode, the "bird" took off, filmed it all nicely, we blew it up, and we were like: yes, we did it, the operation was a success, performed at the highest level of proficiency!

- What and how much... is needed to get the Crimea Bridge blown up?

- The Kerch Bridge, it has already been blown up twice... The first time, instantly, they used 21 tons of hexane transported in a truck... But why did it happen like that? Because the explosion occurred on the surface, that is, if the truck had driven under the bridge, everything would have blown up, it could have not been able to be restored back to service until now, it’s one hundred percent sure. How much computation will need to be done for the bridge proper? The computations, the drawing of the bridge, the supporting beams, the bridge surface area, the computation of requisite amount of explosives... I don’t think that too much of it will be needed, certainly not 20 or 30 tons. I think 5 tons per each bridge span will suffice to get it destroyed. But that, however, is not going to destroy it to ruins, the bridge will be just damaged, made impassable, but not to the extent of becoming completely worthless or unrecoverable. It will take a lot of TNT to get it destroyed beyond use or repair.

- Would you like to blow up the Crimea Bridge?

- Yes, of course, every sapper wants to blow up the Crimea Bridge. Even if they call me at 2 a.m. in the morning and say: there is a job for special forces, they need to blow up a bridge... I would say: how much time am I allowed to arrive at the site where the operation is planned? That's it, I'd pack my emergency bag and go to meet the guys who do the planning for that operation. If you see me in Crimea, something will definitely happen out there.

- Not only the military need bridges to be blown up, but they also need the construction of crossings over water obstacles.  How fast can you build a temporary bridge?

- ...I had one experience in building a river crossing; it was on the Kharkiv axis, assault operations, Novoselivka, Drobysheve..., Lyman axis, the approaches to Lyman. An allied unit was sent to help me... I saw that KrAZ truck carrying the things used for bridge building. I thought to myself: well, something interesting is going to happen. And we began working on it upon completing assault actions and taking control over the settlement. Afterwards, we were working setting up the crossing, building a road for logistics to enable our vehicles to cross to the other side faster.

- You are tasked, among other things, to build up fortifications. Could you tell us about it?

 - Building fortifications is part of our job. There is even a separate unit set up for that purpose, for building fortifications. It builds dugouts for personnel, for command posts, etc. We conduct personnel selection for that unit, favoring people with construction experience, who know what a crossing is like, how best to make it persistent, adjust it for everyday use later on, when there will be trench fighting, etc.

- What makes a success, a little victory in your job?

- Success is where soldiers return from a mission and say: we worked hard, did such and such actions, completed such and such tasks. Some time passes, and the headquarters calls, saying: enemy vehicles have exploded on the minefield you’ve placed! It’s so awesome, you know! We did it! We planted anti-personnel mines out there, a hostile recon and subversion group entered, and they all got blew up. And you say, “It’s really awesome!” That is what makes our job a success. Regarding a little victory… It’s where you return from a personal mission alive, and your little daughter greets you at home, gives you hugs and kisses. This is what a little victory is, because I returned alive from a mission to my family; it’s a little victory to me.

- Thank you. Little by little, our interview is coming to a close, and I would like you to answer a few blitz questions. I ask you to answer briefly and quickly. Ready?

- Yes.

- Your biggest fear is…

- To fail to set off a mine at the moment a hostile vehicle is driving over it.

- Describe yourself in three words.

- Goal-oriented, faithful, kind.

- What is the most annoying question civilians ask you?

- When will the war end?

- If you had a second chance, which of your decisions would you change?

- What matters most is to save the personnel, those who perform missions. There were those who never came back, and I would like to work it out as much as possible so that this would never happen again.

- What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

- To be alive is, probably, in that we live now, just live, do rotations, return, learn, go out for new combat missions, again and again... To truly live is to wake up in the morning, drink some coffee, take your daughter to school, go to work, come back home, your child greets you, you take a rest, knowing that there will be no more of these rotations, no more war, and you will never again see the death of your comrades.

- The best advice you received in your life?

- Move ahead all the time, do not be afraid of being criticized, improve your skills, help everyone who needs it.

- What would you say to yourself 10 years ago?

- Do not look into the past.

- For you, victory in this war is...

- Victory is where the war will be over, everyone will return to their homes and families, and we will remove the last mine. Because the war will end, but there still will be a lot of work for us to do.

- Thank you for this conversation and for taking the time to visit our studio.

Interviewed by Diana Slavinska

Watch the full video of this interview on the Ukrinform TV YouTube channel