Anna Ilyushchenkova, codename Murka, “Donbas” battalion I went to war as a health professional in July 2014. I had information that there was a real need for health professionals in the “Donbas” battalion. I could not stay in Odesa while the guys were dying there. Until 2014, I had been doing some business, and medicine was more like a hobby, for a few hours a day. From the very beginning
I remember those sunflowers as they beat me on eggs. There, on that bridge, were nearly 5 people between the wheels. The left side was covered, between the two spare tires, so it hit into the right one. I was in a bulletproof vest - it protected me from small fragments. A young guy jumped to us, he was probably 18. He was hanging below, I grabbed his arm: "Youngin, I'll hold you, just hold on." I saw fear in his eyes and he shouted, "What will happen to us?!" What will happen to us?” And I look towards the woodland, 30-40 meters away, and they ram right on us. And I realized he was over and there was nothing I could do. And I told him that everything would be fine, I saw him to calm down. He calmed down and died instantly. I saw he believed me during those split seconds.
In the evening, 3 pairs of our snipers came together to decide what to do next: either to leave or to stay. Everyone knew that if we were captured, snipers would not be among their favorites. I decided for myself that I would not leave the wounded. Everyone who was there made their own choice. Half of the Russians did not understand where they were. They believed that Donetsk was part of the Russian Federation, a kind of a regional center in the Rostov region. Then Motorola's men came, aimed their assault rifles at us, flicked off safety catches, and made us jump to "Khto Ne Skache Toy Moskal" [Whoever does not jump is a Moskal]. It all looked like execution by firing squad.
The ambulance- a new Peugeot with orange stripes, braked. We were about 50 meters away from the road - very close and clear as day, there was nowhere to hide at all. Then we heard screams, and Russians jumped out, "Lie down! Lay your weapons to the ground! We will shoot." So we turned around and saw six Russians who jumped out - they were also fully equipped - and aimed their assault rifles at us. We started to run. Abruptly. In a few seconds, the Russians started firing at us. First they were shooting at our feet, because we saw pieces of earth flying into the air and did not hear whistles. Then we started zigzagging; they just could not shoot precisely at us. Then they started firing severely, because I could hear bullets whistling above my head.
I was injured on August 24, when our “Uncle Petya” [Poroshenko] was organizing the parade. We mopped the first checkpoint, then the second one, the third one. It was either the fourth or the fifth checkpoint. I climbed into a trench, there was a dug-out and three "non-Russians". They started shooting at me. I fired back, and then got injured. I am grateful to the guys, of course, that they covered me, and shot them; only of them managed to escape. At least two of them stayed there.
When they grabbed Crimea, I realized they would come to (my - Ed.) home, if not stopped. There were many people saying: "We will fight after they come here." "No”, I said, “guys, it will be too late." Then we will partisan. We were rushing through the field, and then came across a kind of a steppingstone, a hump from the field to the village. An APC was going behind us with a bunch of people. And the APC (falls) from this steppingstone, guys from this APC (fall) under the wheels, and another APC behind it, they squeezed the guys' like tomatoes – squish, squish.
So we were told that we were leaving in Mariupol direction and there were already disturbances in Mariupol. When we were leaving, everyone was silent. The full bus of men, and the silence, everyone thinking of themselves. A young guy, a former police officer, sat next to me, took a loading case and tried to fasten it. I saw he didn’t know how to do it. He then asked me if I could show him. I was shocked. And before that Georgians just told us how to go into a room, how to cover each other, how to roll grenades. I realized there are many people on the bus who are probably holding the automatic rifle for the first time in their lives.
I also clearly remember how it was at school: the locals were hypnotized: they were thinking that we would eat their children. I am giving her (a local woman – edit.) my last combat ration and she is asking me: “are you going to eat our children?” Well, of course, I’ve come here with the only aim – to eat your children. We started moving to Starobeshevo and entered some village, we turned right and everything began… They were shooting from all the sides. I saw that everyone started going into a ditch. And there I had a soldier saying: “Comrade Lieutenant, let me shoot!” “My dear, start not just shooting, but firing with everything possible”.
Was deadly wounded in Ilovaisk on August 26, 2014 . Mom says that she went to see him off, and he turned around, wiped away his tears and departed. He knew where he was going. Vova attended our church. He often prayed. He had a prayer book with him. The Moscow Orthodox church is near our house and the priest is his friend, they both are of the same age. They were friends; he was helping a lot near the church: to mow grass, plant trees, he was singing at the church choir. And this same priest was burying him.
Summer, everything was burning, and there was still grass on the side, which had not been burned yet. In fact, that was a pretty good summer day; bullets, debris, and shells were constantly whistling above your heads. And you lie and think - maybe you should fall asleep? Well, in this particular situation, there is nothing you can do. You cannot move too. Captivity itself was really terrible. Every day someone was beaten up, they broke people's bones. Nobody knew when all of this would end. You are always on that hook that maybe they would exchange us tomorrow. Or maybe the day after tomorrow. There was some absolutely fantastic gossip.
