“A real horde was fighting against fifty guys.” A memorial was opened in the Kherson region in honor of 28 fallen defenders, including an Odessa resident (society, photos, video)

The memorial dedicated to 28 defenders, including Odessans, who died in battles with Russian occupiers near the village of Blagovatnoye in the Kherson region, was opened on August 19. Dumskaya attended the ceremony and talked to the brothers-in-arms of the fallen soldiers.

“In the middle of the summer of 2022, there was real hell here,” recalls Nikolai Yuzepchuk, a fellow soldier of the deceased, call sign Juz. “Against us, fifty guys from the 63rd brigade and the 122nd brigade of the Troops, there was a real horde. About 500 orcs from the elite units of the Russian army, armed to the teeth, among them were Kadyrov’s fighters. At that time, we only had machine guns and grenades in our hands, plus a couple of motorized vehicles ( MTLB, a lightly armored vehicle for transporting fighters, – Ed.). The orcs actually surrounded the village from three sides, as a result, Blagovatnoye turned into an outpost of the distant vanguard. Most likely, the Russians expected to simply turn us into dust – they were advancing with the support of tanks and heavy artillery. But, apparently, something went wrong, as the Russian commanders assumed – we held out, literally on the edge of human capabilities … “

At the time of the defense of Blagovatnoye, Odessa Regional Council deputy Andrey Babenko was the commander of a unit of the 122nd Troops Brigade, assigned to the 63rd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Already on February 24, 2022, I gathered my friends, acquaintances, and employees and said: step forward, those who are with me at the front. There were no big words, they just understood – if not us, then who? Thirty people went to the front with me then. Then there were our volunteers. Almost immediately we got to our area of responsibility, held positions in the Kherson direction. They bombed here not just every day, but every hour – look what is left of the village! But the guys held out. Unfortunately, 28 guys died defending these villages. On August 19, 2022, our brother, an employee of the Samson agency, Serezha Khlistun died here,” Babenko said.

Even after two and a half years, literally every centimeter of walls, fences, and gates in Blagovatnoye looks like a sieve. And the carefully grown gardens have been turned into a black palisade by the fires. The plantings and most of the fields here are still inaccessible to residents due to thousands of unexploded shells and undefused mines.

An officer with the call sign Korvet was one of the commanders of the defense of these borders in September 2022. He says that the occupiers in those battles not only had a tenfold advantage in manpower, but were also armed with heavy equipment.

“Unfortunately, our brigade was catastrophically short of combat equipment and artillery. At many points, our guys could only counter dozens of enemy tanks with grenade launchers and a couple of MTLBs. To the credit of all those who held the line here, no one gave in, they literally stood to the death. And they held out, although at a very high price – 28 guys left forever,” says Korvet.

Right by the road, in the Ukrainian steppe blackened by fires, surrounded by dozens of “Danger! Mined” signs, there now stands a memorial stele with a flag and photographs of 28 Ukrainian Heroes who have passed into Eternity. For now, this is a temporary structure made of fiberboard, which Andrey Babenko has promised to soon replace with marble.

Eternal memory and glory to the fallen defenders of Ukraine!
DEATH TO THE RUSSIAN OCCUPIERS!