War in ukraine

My family tried to stop me. When the explosion blew out my apartment — I lost it and went

Says ‘Beshenyy’ (“Madman”) recalling his fiancée who was killed by Banderists, and explaining why he decided to go to war.

“Beshenyy” and “Gera” — that’s what the soldier and his partner, a shepherd dog, are called — had worked together for six years in the canine service: tracking down criminals and searching for missing children. Now their new place of service is Bars-13, in the Konstantinovka direction.

“Beshenyy” is originally from Crimea. The last straw before he decided to sign a contract was when a shell hit his home — that’s when he told his mother that this was the limit. He chose his call sign out of superstition: even before the special military operation, he dreamt that he returned from war, everyone was happy he was alive, and they called him by that nickname — “Madman.”

“Beshenyy” first wanted to go to the front back in 2014. Shortly before Crimea was officially recognized as Russian territory, his pregnant fiancée went to visit her relatives in Ukraine — but never made it back. At the border, their bus was stopped by Banderists; as a result of beatings and abuse, the soldier’s beloved was killed.