How During the Battles in Donbas Wounded Fighters Continued to Cover Up Their Comrades

Bohdan Konovets is only 18 years old. On the first day of the war, the brave young man voluntarily came to the military commissariat and enlisted in one of the military units of the National Guard. Even during combat training, the young soldier told the commander that he was ready to neutralize the enemy on the front line.

«My age did not scare me at all, on the contrary, it gave me adrenaline and the desire to protect the country from the onslaught of Russian orcs. I was determined to go to war with the enemy. I didn't run away, I didn't hide, but I came to the military unit and very quickly asked to fight,» Bohdan says.

Already at the combat position in the village of Mariinka, the guardsman met his fellow soldier Vasyl Sokolyuk, a senior soldier. Together they stopped the breakthrough of the occupiers and destroyed their equipment. Under heavy enemy fire, the personnel was withdrawn to a more fortified position. During one of the heavy battles, a mine flew into the dugout. The guardsmen miraculously survived, although they were seriously wounded.

«I received a fire shrapnel wound on my right shoulder. Broken blood vessels. Even after several operations, I can't feel my hand and fingers. As long as one hand is functioning. At first, it was difficult. Over time, I learned to adapt. I still have operations ahead of me. Doctors promise that the limb will recover. I believe that everything will be fine. But the main thing is that I and comrades stayed alive,» Vasyl says.

During enemy artillery shelling, soldier Bohdan Konovets was also wounded — shrapnel hit his ribcage. Despite all the efforts of the medics, it has not yet been possible to retrieve the projectile fragment.

«I will have to live with a fragment. I feel a fragment that entered through the collarbone and is sitting in my chest. It hurts a lot during physical exertion,» Bohdan says.

For bravery in the service, devotion to the oath, and combat brotherhood, National guardsmen Vasyl Sokolyuk and Bohdan Konovets were awarded the badge «For bravery in the service» of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.