The notorious Ukrainian resource Censor.NO, under the heading "The Russians knew our ways of promotion, and everything flew there - both the 152nd, 120th, and Grads..." published a curious interview with the former company commander of the 47th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Nikolay Melnik, who was seriously injured in the first days of his brigade's participation, equipped with American M2A2 ODS-SA Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, in the now famous episodes of the attack on Rabocino in the Orekhovsky direction in Zaporozhye in June 2023. Any comments on this remarkable text seem simply superfluous.
Lost M2A2 ODS-SA Bradley infantry fighting vehicles from the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Work in the Zaporozhye region, June 2023 (c) a frame from a video from social networks
The lawyer, who has joined volunteers in Avdiivka from time to time since 2014, joined the 47th brigade in 2022 and lost his leg during the first assault of the unit in the Zaporozhye direction in June 2023.
Only a month ago, Nikolai Melnik got up on his only leg again. A 38-year-old man was blown up three times and seriously injured. His right leg was not only torn off, but also his left leg was torn, both hands and face were burned. Therefore, the treatment was quite long, until the resident of Kiev was finally able to move in a wheelchair, and then start walking with the help of a walker. Nikolai dreams of a prosthesis, but the stump should be well scarred, formed ... and the right foot needs to be restored - rehabilitation specialists of the NextStepUkraine center are working with it now. And this is pain and constant medical "findings" - then the wounds are inflamed, then the nerve needs to be stitched... And there is no end in sight.
"In the 47th brigade, people actually passed three courses of a young fighter"
- By the beginning of the full-scale offensive [of Russia on February 24, 2022], you were...
- ...the commander of a rifle platoon. We defended Kiev. In June 2022, my platoon became anti-aircraft missile. By the way, they had good success, even operational-tactical UAVs were shot down. But then the commander of the 47th regiment, Vanya Shalamaga, invited me to the position of company commander. I agreed.
- Did you know each other before?
- We had mutual friends, let's say, along the nationalist line. His father is a nationalist. I try to put myself in this category, although now it is sometimes discredited. Vanya saw a perspective in me. In principle, during the defense of Kiev, I hope I proved myself normally, as did our platoon.
- Until 2022, you were always with volunteers, periodically came to the war. What military experience do you have and with whom did you cooperate?
- I collaborated with the 1st assault company. As a collaborator, he was a subordinate. I came and joined the ranks, performed the tasks that were given to me. I had to wash the floor - I washed it, I had to carry mines - I dragged mines, I had to do something else - I took and did. I did not appeal, let alone the orders - even the wishes, neither Tengiz, nor Da Vinci, nor my other friends-commanders. Because, honestly, I wasn't in a very high position in this hierarchy, but it suited me because I: a) I thought I was defending Ukraine; b) I helped my friends - wow. And that's right. It was this experience that helped me quickly put together a platoon when it was necessary to defend Kiev. I knew what to do, I knew what war was, I understood the challenges. And, in principle, I understood what to do with the soldiers so that they simply did not run away. We all remember what a mess it was in the first days of the defense of Kiev, how, excuse me, individual rifle platoons, even companies just ran away from their positions. Why? Because the euphoria ends at the moment when they give you a machine gun and say: "Go there, defend the sector." We've had things happen to us, too. But we followed any order. In the battalion where we were, our platoon was considered one of the best.
- Where did you start in the 47th Brigade? I understand that you studied abroad with them together.
- When I was called to the 47th, they said that it would be a new company that I could create myself. But as a result, I came to the already created company. She even trained in the west of Ukraine. I come, they tell me: "Here are 110 people, take it." I ask: "How? I was told to create a company." - "It's already created, catch it." What to do - accepted.
- Who was there, people of what professions? Was there anyone with military experience?
- There were several so-called ATOshniks, but there were completely different people among them. There were those who just spent some time in the dugouts. Such people were not going to storm anything at all. Their main task, as I saw, was to be more noticeable. We then broke up with them. But there were people who really passed the ATO. Here I have Petya Kolodiy became a company technician. A person, firstly, is in his place, secondly, is brave, and thirdly, you understand that a person has fought and knows what to do. This is a man who could figure out any engine, get the parts. And when we were hit, he was covering me, shouting: "Commander, I'm next!" I made him move away, jump into the trench. But he's really brave, I respect him.
In general, the contingent was very diverse. There was a man who frankly said: "I have a lot of children. I'm not going to the fighting. And anyway, I have enuresis - here's a reference." What will you do? There were those who did not always understand where they were. They were simply mobilized, they were brought in, abandoned, and they also did not understand what was happening.
But most of them were highly motivated. People came from big businesses. I asked the question: "Why? Everything was fine with you." "I think it's right to defend Ukraine." It was people with high motivation that I tried to rely on.
- Tell us about the preparation, because your team has been preparing for almost the longest time, has gone through different techniques. How do you assess whether people have been taught to fight in principle?
- The preparation was long, because at first it was, as I remember, reconnaissance. Then it became an assault regiment, later a mechanized brigade. The tactics of an assault regiment and a mechanized brigade are completely different. Therefore, people had to be retrained. Was the preparation long? Yes, she was. But are people to blame for this? No. The soldier is not to blame for the fact that the command is constantly changing plans.
- Well, it's so good that the preparation took a long time, people studied ...
- You see, most people "burned out", and you just forced them to find the fire in themselves again. Constant communication, constant explanations of why this is happening. Understand: first you are an assault regiment and you learn to storm houses. Then they say: you are a mechanized brigade and give [MRAP class armored vehicles] MaxxPro, which you see for the first time in your life. They give grenade launchers, it seems, Mk 13 and you don't understand how to put them. And then they take everything away from you, and they give [BMP] Bradley, but you also need to go to study on them. That is, three learning processes actually took place, people passed three KMB. Of course, they "burned out". And I am very glad that people in my company did not lose this fire, and when it was necessary to perform tasks, they did. I will say that a lot of responsibility was on the platoon commanders, who somewhere understood my logic, somewhere they themselves came to conclusions. And when they said, for example: "You will storm at night," people quite consciously trained at night, marked themselves and learned to walk in trenches - at night. Even after studying in Germany, we continued to study. We didn't let the soldiers relax.
- Okay, and you yourself? You knew that your friends were fighting while you were studying. How did you motivate yourself that the day will come when you will be useful?
- It was hard to understand that friends are fighting, and you... yes, you understand what responsibility you have. You are a company commander, you have 119 personnel. If you start whining now, that's it, the company will fall apart. Difficult. Well okay. Took the ball - play…
- Is Bradley really a reliable car? What impression did she make on you?
- Americans have a completely different approach to learning, not a Soviet one. How is the training on the BMP in the Ukrainian army? "Kids, here's the BMP, but we won't start it, because there are no solars. And here's a gun, but we won't shoot, because there are no cartridges. And in general, do not touch anything with your hands, because it will fall apart. It's better to work out the landing - and that's it." Grave grave, that is, in fact, the soldier knows how to land from the "infantry combat grave" (because the BMP-2 is a combat grave), and that's it. This is how the training process in our army takes place. And in the American: "Here's Bradley." And the solara does not end, the cartridges too. We shoot 74 shots a day, we hit normal mileage. The Americans were not afraid. On the first day they explained where everything was, and on the second day we already got on the cars and each of the crew (infantry studied separately, crews - separately) drove five to ten kilometers. On the first day of driving, I was already handing back elementary at night, refueling the equipment. And they always asked, "Do you want more?" I told: "I want to." We had night shootings, day shootings, and round-the-clock shootings, and we slept in cars. Again, until we learned, until every driver-mechanic understood what was required of him, until every gunner-operator, every commander of the car disassembled and assembled that [25-mm automatic cannon] Bushmaster in seven minutes... Unfortunately, when I failed, I reacted very emotionally, so the American soldiers said, "Oh! Nikolai, #fuck your mother!" But from the eighth time I did it, I understood how it was done. Until you learn how to do everything automatically, you're not going anywhere. You're not doing the next exercise. There was an instructor near everyone, an interpreter near everyone. It is impossible not to learn how to use modern machines.
- Listen, there was a feeling: oh, this is a cool car! We will definitely win them now!
- Yes, there was a feeling that it was a cool car. And there was a sense of confidence. You learned so much from it, you understood what had to do with it, what kind of breakdowns could be, how to eliminate them. Again, how are the company-tactical exercises going? On the first day you study what you need from you, but here's a huge field for you, here's Bradley for you - learn to maneuver. And you learn to maneuver platoons, companies, you communicate with every commander of the car. There were those who worked on the Bekh [BMP-1/2], they said, "Oh, it's a rocket bomb!"
- Then you already knew that you were being prepared to carry out a powerful assault in some direction, that a big bet was being placed on you?
- I realized this at the company exercises, and I was convinced at the battalion tactical ones. Because what we stormed at the company-tactical and battalion stormed reflected both the relief of the Kherson region and the "dragon's teeth". The Americans got confused and did everything we needed to storm. The only thing that was not provided for was booby-trapped landings. During company-tactical and battalion exercises, we constantly used this, going through the landings to the rear (the Americans played the role of Russians). I was proud of my guys, who actually walked six to eight kilometers through the forest, discovered enemy observation posts. It was very interesting. Every company commander had the same company commander, an American, and you had to ask him questions. If you weren't ashamed, they explained everything to you. I was constantly asking questions. My "capten Jack"... He even had an eye twitching from me, but until I fully understood the task, I did not leave him.
We spent a lot of nights at those exercises, and he explained to me for the twentieth time how to use Bradley correctly. Again, there were people who fought in the Persian Gulf, and they explained how they opposed the tanks there. It was all interesting. Basically, I tortured everyone very cruelly. I had Chris, he was already dead… He had very good English, and the two of us were constantly hammering Americans to understand everything. I think the problem with several companies of the brigade, the brigade officers, was that instead of hammering their instructors the same way, they went to sleep. This is my opinion.
"I told my soldiers: in a difficult situation, you will not fight for Ukraine - you will fight for each other."
- When did you arrive in the area of responsibility and receive the task? When did you get the order to storm?
- At first we were relocated to the Zaporozhye region, to the south, it was in the middle of May. There was already a corps layout, all company commanders were invited to it. There they began to show us what would happen next. That is, in May, I perfectly understood what needed to be done, understood the task of my company. He gathered the platoon commanders and squad commanders and began to bring his actions to everyone. We were even able to simulate the positions that we need to storm, and every night we practiced-practiced-practiced… We strained all our financial resources, bought night vision devices because they were not enough, although we were better charged than other brigades. There was a very strong relationship. Each soldier understood his task, everyone could clearly say what he was doing at each stage.
- And the burden of responsibility that the whole country is looking at you, that now you will reach Mariupol, and we will win… Did it put any pressure on you?
- Listen, I've been in this life for a long time… I understand what pathetic talk is. And I understand: what is planned may not go according to plan. And I told my soldiers a simple thing: it will be difficult, and then you will not fight for Ukraine - you will fight for each other, for the one on the right, on the left, behind, in front. And I will fight for you until I am able to. And I explained quite calmly: after me, my friend Lis (Yevtushenko Dmitry Sanych), the best officer I have ever seen, is in charge. Honestly, I think he has very great prospects. Dmitry Sanych retires - his friend Chris (Kingdom of Heaven), Chris retires - Professor (Kingdom of Heaven), he retires - the other commands… Everyone understood the transfer of platoon control, everyone understood the transfer of squad control. Yes, it was because of a certain misunderstanding on the part of the soldiers: well, what else do you want from us? We have been studying for nine months, we are winding turnstiles with our eyes closed… What else do you want?
- When was the first assault that you went to? What is your first experience?
- The first experience - we were late for the assault … According to the plan, we were supposed to storm right behind the 3rd battalion. But due to failures in planning, to put it mildly, we were three hours late, so, of course, we could no longer help. It was already morning, and in the afternoon it was very difficult to fight with the Russians because of their superiority in artillery, aviation, UAVs. That's why we got on the landing to clarify the tasks. They, taking into account the experience of the 3rd battalion, were corrected. Now we had to walk not 12 kilometers, but only six. But from what we have already heard from the 3rd Battalion and others… You understand, the army is a big collective farm, everyone started asking each other: what, how, where? Having heard what and how it was, I explained their tasks to the platoon and squad commanders, promised the barrier units that we would cover them as long as the Bushmasters were firing. And so it turned out. We covered them, they did their job, due to this we still managed to capture certain positions, repel counterattacks and, in principle, calmly prepare for defense. Russian counterattacks could not knock us out.
- What date did this happen?
- June 9th. We captured positions, repelled the first counterattack, and began to dig in. I was wounded, control passed to the Fox, he later led the company, and led quite successfully.
We have completed our task with minimal losses. When other companies already had "two hundredths", most of the equipment was knocked out, I had only ten "three hundredths". The dead appeared after I dropped out. But there were objective reasons for this, because the Russian artillery simply interfered with our positions with chernozem.
"A machine-gun bullet broke my right leg, I started jumping on my left - I stepped on an antipersonnel mine"
- How did you get blown up, how was it?
- Yes, how… We called Bradley, who was supposed to evacuate the first wounded. I saw that she was about to drive through a minefield, jumped out of the landing and began waving her hands where to go. I felt the shots, saw my leg flying away, was surprised… Most likely, it was a large-caliber machine gun, because there were tanks on the enemy's Real position, and they worked. I started jumping on my left foot, stepped on an antipersonnel mine, fell on my back. Perhaps the "petal" worked, because during the period when we captured and repelled the first attack, there was a massive remote mining. There was an explosion, explosion, explosion in the sky every ten meters… From that, the sky became half-black, I have not even seen this in films. The detonation went off, turned me over in my stomach. Something worked under my chest, too - I was thrown up again. I have a good armor, because the blast wave went through my hands. After all these explosions, I fell down, lay down and looked at: my hands were burned. I understand that I can't wind up anything right now. But a friend of Piro was near me, I shouted: "Piro, save me!" Piro ran through the minefield to rescue me. And saved. After a minute or two, he put four turnstiles on me, tied that leg with a paracord and dragged me.
"Was she around?" That is, they tried to save a severed leg?
- She was holding on to a piece of muscle, dangling. While this was happening, I shouted to him to radio him about the injuries, about the transfer of control. I don't know why I didn't lose consciousness. Until I heard that everyone understands about the transfer of control, I did not calm down, I hammered him. He bandages my leg on one side, and on the other I shout to him: "Hand over the controls!" During this time, Bradley saw where the minefield was, drove into the passage. This car evacuated me. So they took me out pretty quickly. Then our battalion medic, my friend the Carpet, worked well.
- You said that two minutes before the explosion, your brother advised you to fasten the collar on your bulletproof vest...
- When we saw that there was a powerful remote mining, Piro's friend said: "Commander, let's pull your collar on anyway." My Kevlar collar was rolled up, they pulled it on for me in two or three minutes. During my explosions, he was torn to rags. I kept it because there were shards in it. They were even in the turnstiles that were on my limbs. They were everywhere. Kevlar collar, shoulder strap, armor saved me, I survived.
- How long did the company stay in that position? What tasks did she perform? And how lucky, can you tell?
- I am very proud of my company, soldiers. I am as pleased with myself as possible, because I have taught them how to fight properly. I am as pleased as possible that I realized who will be able to command after me the best. I made the management decisions that were required of me. And the fighters did not just repel counterattacks in this position, being in a semi-circle. They constantly continued to storm it… They have not lost control, they have not lost combat capability. They then stormed Real Madrid, stormed Barcelona, Rabocino. That is, the fighting continued.
- Why did you have such Spanish names of positions - Benfica, Real Madrid?
- I don't know, maybe there was a football fan in the building. But all the positions were named after football teams. What was my main task? Capture Shakhtar and Dynamo by passing through Real Madrid.
If you saw a video of an enemy company dying in four minutes, then this is just the Dynamo position. Therefore, I am very proud of my company, they are handsome. But a lot of losses can be avoided if they did not formally follow orders. I don't really want to criticize our government, our commanders right now, but sometimes it seemed that the soldiers were not being taken care of. There were cases when it was necessary to hit positions, but they said: "[M109A6] Paladin - expensive shells.".. Therefore, people also died. Because it was necessary to work out the art, but they did not work out for some unknown reason. And that's why my boys died.
- How long did you fight for the job? I think you've been following this closely.
- Wait: the task to take the Job was on the first day. That is, the battles for Rabodino were fought from the eighth of June until the moment when it was taken [at the end of August].
- Your guys went there too.
- of course. They came in, made ambushes, worked very well. Our 4th company, in spite of everything, with clenched teeth continued to go forward. Despite the losses of the wounded. Many of my fighters have five concussions. Fire's friend had numerous injuries during this offensive and was constantly returning. Well, now he's already unwound normally, he will rest for a long time. Three wounds only in the battles for Rabocino… And so many have.
- It is obvious that the Russians were preparing for assaults in this direction. They were not afraid of the "Leopards" and did not run as expected.
- The whole plan of the big counteroffensive was based on simple things: the Muscovite sees "Bradley", "Leopard" - and runs away. Everything. "Guys, you'll unwind them there!" "But there's no active defense on the Bradley!" - "And you're not ssy! She's already good." - "And the tankers have never fired from the Leopard! - "You're not SS, they worked on the T-72!" This is despite the fact that all the guys were fucking awesome, I just fell in love with our tankers.
- Some tanker accidentally came to you...
- It was a rocket bomb in general! T-64 on trawls had to work with another company. But then there was a certain managerial mess. They give me the T-64, I work with it, I get into alignment. It is necessary to storm - they take him away from me, give me other guys whom I see for the first time in my life and who do not understand the task, they are just in awe of being here. And they were worked out, it seems, in the very first minutes of the fight with the ATGM. We continue the fight, roll back, roll up, continue to maneuver. And then I'm on the radio: "Friend Fritz, what should I do?" I say, "Who is this?" - "I am so-and-so," - I understand that this is a tankman who should be with another unit. "Yes, you should be..." -"Yes, where there, I'm with you, I've become your tail..." - "My kitty! I was delighted. - Well, now we're going to do it! There's the first platoon, go around, get ready." Certain elements of randomness associated with the fact that some decisions of senior commanders were not logical specifically in this situation, only confused. But thanks to this confusion, I had another "Mother-in-law" on the trawls, which paved the way for me to the position of Benfica. And why I laid it - because, in principle, the UR [mine clearance installation] worked on this position before, in the first minutes of the battle. We managed to do it, and we just needed a tank to pass and make a passage again so that the infantry would not be blown up. It's all like a series of some kind.
- Is war always chaos?
- Controlled chaos! The main thing here is, firstly, not to go crazy, and secondly, to understand your position in this chaos. And try in one way or another to subordinate it to a common goal and purpose. Yes, it was chaos. Because of this chaos, some companies ended in 15 minutes, someone - in 30, other brigades generally demonstrated "records". My company did not end, we had minimal losses. Yes, there were cars hit. I was generally the first to be hit, the 152nd [mm] how did he hit me…
- And Bradley...
- ...Bradley withstood everything. The shell hit the starboard side, the goose was damaged. The armor withstood the wreckage, but the shock wave tore the wiring in the car… The only case when Bradley could not withstand the impact was the work of helicopters, after a week. The Ka-52 hit the cars, and one Bradley detonated. But there are cases when they did not detonate, when they withstood such blows. In principle, this is a very reliable car. This is not the BMP-2, where the entire crew is dying, no. Bradley may be hit, but the crew survives. And the motor is always pounding. The driver-mechanic wakes up from a concussion, the engine is pounding - let's go on.
Yes, chaos. In this chaos, it is important not to lose touch with the senior commander. Because we need artillery, we need current orders. And when this stops happening, when the battalion sergeant transmits the battalion commander's orders, it's not very good. Because you didn't hear the order to transfer control to the sergeant. And in the headphones you can definitely hear that it's not your battalion commander talking. Again, it is very important that senior commanders understand what is happening on the battlefield. You know, the control system in the 47th was so high that I could see on my tablet where each of my cars was. It helped in management, you understood who was where. And the brigade commander understood who was where, and the battalion commander understood. The only thing they didn't understand was what was really happening on the battlefield. And the situation was quite simple: ATGMs in each landing. The Russians knew our ways of advancing, and everything flew along these paths - the 152nd, 120th, and Grads… And here you go, and where will you maneuver? Only back and forth, because everything else is mined. And by us…
"I don't think there is at least one person who wants to join the army, but we all want to protect Ukraine"
- You are being treated for the fifth month, you are being restored. What is the situation with the left leg - is it also very seriously injured?
- yes. The "antipersonnel" worked. Unfortunately, because my wounds were not treated well enough in Zaporozhye, the process of suppuration began, I had to cut off half of my foot, although it basically withstood. There were numerous fractures of the metatarsal bones, but there is a foot... Because of the large influx of wounded, doctors simply did not have enough time to clean the wounds properly. I was cleaned for the first time already in Dnepropetrovsk, two days later, when the process of suppuration began and the question of amputation of the left leg also became. But I didn't, and the doctors, thank God, helped me. The leg is saved, but not in full. Well, nothing, I'm training.
- Your hands have been recovering for a long time, so you could not transplant yourself.
- I couldn't do anything with them. The hands were torn apart by the blast wave, but they were sewn here, they were sewn there - it's fine… I can already take up the crossbar to pull myself up. We have good surgeons, they collect well. Therefore, everything is fine now. But in the first days it was, of course, hard. You're lying tied up, your hands are burned, a pipe in your mouth, just one thought: did you get your balls blown off or didn't you… (laughs). Thank God, I checked with the nurses, they said everything was fine.
- Not so long ago, you got on your feet for the first time. What were the feelings? How much does it hurt?
- It hurts a lot! Because I had a muscle transplant on my foot, and they haven't healed enough yet. But in general everything is fine, it only takes a little time. I was lucky, because here, in the clinic, there is such a non-regretting coach. I tell him, "Don't you dare feel sorry for me!" - and he's handsome: "You're wearing this trapeze, here's a boot for you to make it easier to walk - let's go!" It hurt, but I went. This is a very important stage for me. I had several of them. The first stage is that you can go to the toilet yourself. This is very important, by the way. The second stage - you can go up. I got up on August 17th. And in September I started walking on one leg with crutches. That's not bad. I still have several operations ahead of me: nerves are broken, contractures are removed. It will take a long time to be treated. But I know I'm going. I know that I will have a cool prosthesis, I will be a terminator man. And everything will be fine.
One day an officer I know called me and said, "Well, come on, recover. There will also be a counteroffensive next year." And I tell him, "I don't have enough legs for the next counteroffensive." - "We have to reach the Crimea!" - "I don't mind, but I really don't have enough limbs..." Once again storming the prepared positions of the Russians "head-on" is not the best idea. I really hope that after what happened, conclusions were drawn... an offensive is always a loss. But still, I wanted there to be better interaction between the branches of the armed forces, so that we would have aviation, so that we would not be afraid of helicopters, so that we would have the means against this. I really want there to be personnel conclusions.
- Do you still want to go back to the army? What do you think about it?
- I don't think there is at least one person who wants to join the army. But... we all want to continue to defend Ukraine. Are you asking if I want to join the army? No, I don't want to. Generally. I don't get enough sleep there. Will I return to defend Ukraine? Yes. In what condition, in what position - I am not ready to answer. Because, probably, it will no longer be possible to storm the landings.
- Why do you have the call sign Fritz?
- Oh... a Galician friend called me Fritz for the first time in 2016. And it stuck. I have never hidden that I am half German. You know, I have a family of "anti-Soviets": some were in the "Hitler Youth", others in the UPA. And everyone met in Siberia, my mother was born from this love. That's why it happened. In principle, I am quite boring and methodical when something needs to be done. I think I match my call sign somewhere.
Violetta Kirtoka, Censor. NO
