Sergeants of Armed Forces of Ukraine: Leaders not by charter, but by spirit

According to NATO standards, the sergeant is the basis of a professional army, a leader in a combat team and the main communicator between officers and soldiers. For some time now, these standards have been implemented in the Ukrainian army. It is not known how long the filling of the uniforms with content would have lasted if not for the full-scale Russian invasion, which began with Ukrainians joining the army without military, let alone combat experience, but with a strong desire to defend their country. Leaders not by charter, but by spirit.

"FOR SOME REASON, MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT EVERYTHING WAS CALM IN AVDIIVKA BEFORE OCTOBER, BUT IT IS NOT TRUE AT ALL"

In Ocheretyne, the proximity of the frontline is already well felt - almost every house here has been damaged by the shelling that is now happening every day.

- "Look at what the Ocheretyne train station has become," Viktor Valeriyovych slows down in front of the coal-black ruins, "But, actually, as you can see, the whole settlement is not much better, there is constant artillery fire, and UAVs are flying in. Although, compared to what you will see in Avdiivka, this is not the worst destruction.

On the way to the city, which is now in the frontline reports and news every day, we discuss with our guide, Viktor Zharuk, the chief sergeant of the 110th separate mechanized brigade named after Lieutenant General Marko Bezruchko, the Russian offensive in the Avdiivka sector that began in early October.

- Avdiivka is now in the spotlight, and everyone is watching what is happening here. But not everyone realizes that this offensive is not the first. For some reason, many people think that everything was calm in Avdiivka until October. But during the time our brigade has been here, we have not had any quiet periods. Attacks of greater or lesser intensity are constant here. And for more than a year and a half, the guys have been giving a worthy rebuff to the enemy, who systematically tries to take the city, although it is not very successful," explains the chief sergeant of the 110th Brigade.

On February 24, 2022, Viktor Zharuk took his wife from Odesa to the country, and on February 26, he arrived at the military registration and enlistment office with a military ticket. More than 20 years ago, he served as an ensign. When asked whether his experience was useful in the war, he answers simply: of course, there are no former warrant officers, but it was peacetime service, so he had to acquire the relevant knowledge and skills in combat conditions. He took up the position of chief sergeant of the 110th Brigade in April 2022, when the brigade was about to enter the Avdiivka sector.

- The brigade's personnel consisted mostly of mobilized men, people who had not fought a single day. "Yes, some of them served during the ATO/JFO, but the fighting that began after the full-scale Russian invasion cannot be compared to that period," says Viktor Valeriyovych. "The enemy's incredible onslaught, virtually unlimited combat power. Relatively speaking, in response to their hundred shells, ours flew one... I don't even understand how the guys withstood all this and survived then... It was their character, their patriotism - there is no other way to explain it.

"EVERY SERGEANT MUST BE AN AUTHORITY, A COMMANDER WHOM THE GUYS WILL FOLLOW, WHOM THEY RESPECT AND TRUST"

In Avdiivka, we visit several CPCs. While we are getting acquainted and talking to battalion and company commanders and sergeants, Viktor Valeriyovych is solving work-related issues - communicating with the guys, discussing their needs and everyday life.

The duties of the brigade's chief sergeant, like those of any other sergeant, include many tasks and functions. The basic ones are combat training of the unit, logistics, military discipline, and maintaining morale. All of which ultimately add up to the key phrase: organizing a combat-ready unit.

But all of the above should be based on something that cannot be prescribed by rules. This is humanity. The ability to see and appreciate everyone first of all as a human being, a personality, and only then as a combat unit.

- "You have to fulfill your duties as a sergeant not only according to the charter, but according to your conscience," Viktor Valeriyovych is convinced. "For me, the most important thing is that a soldier, a sergeant standing in the trenches, should receive everything he needs to make it easier for him to stand in those trenches. Every day I see what the guys do for the country and in what conditions. It is beyond words. And I realize that they are the bravest people I have ever known.

The brigade's chief sergeant is also guided by his beliefs when selecting sergeants for his units.

- First, I have to understand what kind of person I am facing, talk to him frankly, find out how he communicates with the soldiers, how he behaves in battle," he says. "The situation is such that I need combat sergeants. I do not need people who will deal exclusively with paperwork and statistics. Each sergeant must be an authority, a commander whom the guys will follow into battle, whom they respect and trust. I need someone who will work with the personnel directly in the trenches. And can teach them everything they need to stay alive. He must be an honest, decent, fair and courageous person. And preferably with a sense of humor. You can't do without it in war. In fact, many of the guys who came here as privates became sergeants not because they had been trained somewhere, but because they proved themselves to be leaders in combat.

The principle of "choosing the worthy" works in the brigade, including when selecting company commanders. Some of them are also sergeants.

- There are plenty of examples of this in the brigade. For example, one company is commanded by a senior sergeant, a Hero of Ukraine. We have a security company that de facto performs the work of assault troops. The company commander is a sergeant, the deputy commander is a sergeant, and all the platoons are sergeants. Normal fighting guys, a healthy team. They have taken back many positions and made many successful assaults," says Viktor Valeriyovych.

"I HAVE TO COME TO THE POSITION, ASK THEM WHAT AND HOW, MAKE A JOKE, DRINK TEA, TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY"

- "It's easier for me to run under bullets than to give interviews," Viktor Valeriyovych laughs during the conversation.

"Running under fire" is not a figure of speech, because the brigade's chief sergeant spends a lot of time on the front lines. For him, such trips are not the exception, but the rule.

- "Well, it's my job," he is sincerely surprised by the remark that almost all the videos he showed us were made on zero. "You see, if I don't visit a soldier, don't ask him what kind of minefields he has set up, how he dug a trench, how he arranged a dugout, or made a loophole, what kind of a sergeant am I? You have to go out every day and communicate. My place is there, next to them. And I have to come, ask them what's going on, joke, drink tea, tell a joke, talk about their family, children. I have to give them some advice about weapons and engineering work.

Then Viktor Valeriyovych tells a story that illustrates his words.

- The guys at one of the positions could not make the engineering structures as they should have, to put it simply, they did not want to dig. I put them on combat duty, and a week later I came back and nothing had changed. I left them there. I came back a week later and the work was still not done. I left them again. A week later, I came back and the trenches were finally dug as they should be. And then the assaults began. And thanks to the fact that the guys eventually arranged the firing points properly, the assaults were repelled. Now every time I visit their trenches, they come running: "Come, we will show you what we have done, what firing point we have equipped, what tripwires we have put up for the trenches". The guys are great.

"WHEN I HAND A SOLDIER OR SERGEANT AN AWARD, I SEE HIS EYES BURNING"

- When I went to war, I thought we would quickly deal with the enemy, kick the katsaps in the teeth, just a month or two, and return to normal life. It didn't happen as expected..." Viktor Valeriyovych sighs, "Now I don't make any predictions anymore. I just do my job alongside people I respect very much. And unfortunately, there are so many good guys no longer around...

No matter how cold the mind is, it cannot overcome feelings. Every success of the sergeant and his unit is a source of great pride for Viktor Zharuk. Every loss is a deep personal pain.

- "When people die, when you carry the wounded and dead from the battlefield, it is impossible to forget," the chief sergeant looks away, "Those moments are imprinted in your memory, just like people. There was one guy... When everyone left the position, he was left there alone and kept shooting. Everyone saw him fighting on the stream. He repelled the attack alone, but was killed... And I can give many more examples of heroism of the fighters.

Everyone who is now defending the country with weapons is a hero, Viktor Valeriyovych says, and everyone deserves to be honored. Over time, he says, he has changed his attitude to awards.

- "I used to think: what are these awards for? I'd rather do the job quickly, get this scum off our land, and that's it. But over time, I realized that it is important. When I present a soldier or sergeant with an award, I see his eyes light up and his morale rises. The serviceman realizes that he is not forgotten, that he is seen to be doing something for the state," the chief sergeant is sure.

Some time ago, the 110th Brigade received its own brigade award "For the Defense of Avdiivka". The story of its origin is very simple: at some point it became clear that there were not enough state awards for all those who deserved them in the brigade. The brigade commander supported the idea. A self-taught fighter, as he calls himself, designed the sketch.

- "To date, about a thousand soldiers have received this award," says Viktor Valeriyovych. "I think there will be many more.

"EVERY PERSON WHO RESPECTS HIMSELF OR HERSELF AND LOVES HIS OR HER HOMELAND SHOULD COME TO THE MILITARY ENLISTMENT OFFICE HIMSELF OR HERSELF"

The military are now increasingly saying that it is difficult for them to return to noisy, carefree towns and villages. We hear this phrase in all brigades, without exception. Most of the society simply abstracts from the realities of war, which the military see with their own eyes every day. And the gap of misunderstanding is getting deeper.

Viktor Valeriyovych says he used to have 1300 contacts in his phone book.

- "As I say, from the past, from my pre-war life," he smiles. "One day the phone went dead and a thousand contacts disappeared. And then, when I came back from vacation, I deleted all the others. I have only a few civilians left with whom I can talk about the war. Unfortunately, in my opinion, most people who have not been in this shoes do not understand what is happening here. They don't want to understand. And it's so painful... They make videos of people quarreling with representatives of military enlistment offices, humiliating them. It's just... outrageous, to put it mildly. I believe that every person who respects himself and loves his homeland should come to the military enlistment office himself. I emphasize - a person who respects himself. And to motivate them to come... It seems to me that everyone is already motivated here.

What really supports everyone who is now at the front is the family. At the mere mention of his family, Viktor Valeriyovych's voice becomes unexpectedly gentle.

- "In general, if it wasn't for my family, it would be much harder for me," he admits. "Of course, everyone is worried about me. My wife is incredibly supportive, and I am very grateful to her. You know what they say: a guardian angel walks beside you. For me, this angel is my wife.

Alina Logvinenko,

Serhiy Lysenko