I have arrived to Donetsk on July 9, 2014 – after Strelkov already surrendered Slavyansk. I barely saw Kurginyan (the leader of “Essence of Time” movement – Editor) in Donetsk. I arrived because I saw for sure that Bandera Nazis won in Ukraine and sooner or later I will be forced to jump around shouting “Glory to the heroes” (Ukrainian Nazi heroes, ideologists of the genocide of Russians, such as Bandera, Shukhevich and others – Editor) like they do. I could leave to the village to live with my relatives, but I felt ashamed to hide from the war when I thought about my comrades, more so, because in the social networks I urged the people to resist. I considered the option of underground activism to be an attempt to calm down my own conscience. I had doubts that I will be fit for military service due to my physical health, which is why I decided to go to Donetsk in my own car, to have an option to serve as a driver.
I left Dnepropetrovsk with a feeling that I am not going to see it for a long time, perhaps, never. “Kot” and I went there in my car together. Near Donetsk the road was blocked by the road police workers. They said that we can’t take that road any further, since there were tanks ahead. We had to continue our journey following country roads. We passed the road checkpoints without much trouble.
Having arrived to Donetsk, “Kot” and I lived in an apartment in the city center for the first week. Four-five days later we were joined by “Elbrus”. Donetsk resembled quite a peaceful city during those days. Cars were driving on the streets, people were walking around. The shops were working, the stores were fold of goods. The stores closed earlier than usual, though, at five-six in the afternoon.
But the city started to gradually become desolate, and just several days later there were no cars or people walking around in Donetsk. There was a feeling of a dead city from post-apocalyptic movies. We were falling asleep listening to cannonades and sirens those days.
We had our first meeting with our comrades from the “Essence of Time” mission in Donbass right after we arrived. We have gathered in the apartment of the guys from Kiev near the waterfront. One of them was Mars, we met before during the “Essence of Time” political school in Aleksandrovskoye village, Russia, in 2013.
We have joined the “Vostok” brigade on July 16 and entered the training company. We were housed in the former hangar of the mechanical transport company. The beds were improvised – made from boxes and tables. We were handed mattresses and bed sheets. The military training started from the very first days, we were instructed by the commander of the training company, “Royce” (a guy about 15 years old). Despite his young age, the training exercises were organized. They were constantly interrupted by loading-unloading jobs, though. Every day dining-room and barracks orderlies were selected from among our training company. Every three-four days each of us was selected as a dining room orderly. I remember 2-3 days dedicated to unloading the shells. It was hard, but the guys did their best. We had gatherings in the evenings, during the night we had barrack guard duties. I remember the night sky with rocket flares, glow and cannonade. I was worried about the fate of the city and our unit.
A couple of weeks later our unit was housed in the building of the former school, in the chemistry class, where our comrade “Kontrabas” used to teach just a couple of years ago.
Conflicts among us happened, but there was also a feeling of the common calamity, and most important – the understanding that we have common goals and tasks. Our team was formed by the latter.
Other stories of “Essence of Time” unit soldiers: “Essence of Time” unit in Donbass
Source (for copy): https://eu.eot.su/?p=5663
