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
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.
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.
I am very sorry that Ilovaisk is perceived as a tragedy. Since with such tragic perception, we forget about or do not see all that bravery and heroic activity of our combatants in Ilovaisk. Right, people perished, got into captivity, went missing. But we all knew why we went there and realized the possible consequences. We must commemorate those who perished. Ilovaisk should be depicted as the great battle in which people showed the best traits of their character. That was heroism. That was the turning point. Ilovaisk launched Minsk agreements. Ilovaisk compartmentalized it all: what could be done further and what we could do. And people throughout Ukraine say that Ukrainian fighters, people, citizens can protect their country.
I thought that a man who did not serve in the army was not a real man. Thus, when there was such a situation in the country, and when the aggressor came and the hostilities began, I understood that I had to go. Moreover, in the internal troops I had served in the military unit "3027", where our "Donbas" battalion started to be garrisoned. Knowing that I had the necessary knowledge, I joined. I personally spoke with sergeants, rank and file, and a junior lieutenant. All of them were representatives of the Russian Federation. They did not deny this. This besiegement cost us great losses: the dead, the missing. Not only did we destroy the enemy's machinery during those hours, but I saw with my own eyes a Kamaz in which they (the Russians – editor's note) gathered their KiA (dead people – editor's note). We even helped them to load the dead into the Kamaz.
The Russians gave us an ultimatum: either we give up, or they shoot us with artillery. We decided to go out without weapons. There were many injured, who needed help. The Russians gave us their word that the day after they would transfer us to the Ukrainian side through the buffer zone and would take care of the wounded.
“when we started to leave the Mnogopolye, the second or third car was the KAMAZ with the wounded under a big white flag with a red cross. In KAMAZ there were only the wounded. The entire body was literally laid by the wounded, but it was one of the first to be hit. Probably, they firstly destroyed the heavy equipment..”
"And they were waiting for some kind of mythical “Pravyi Sector”, which was supposed to enter Ilovaisk. They did not hide that they were Russians. They were persuaded that some Bandera men would kill for the Russian language. My communication with them in Russian was a hacking pattern. They could not put together that picture that was in the head and the one that they saw before their eyes.”
