Vladislav Grigoriev21:25, 26.01.25

The infantryman shared that sometimes the soldiers had to pick up crumbs from the ground.

A 23-year-old infantryman named Vladislav, call sign “Beshketnik”, from the 93rd separate mechanized brigade “Kholodny Yar” and his comrades spent more than 80 days surrounded in Kleshcheyevka , Donetsk region. They had to not only survive without food and water, but also fight off Russian occupiers.

The soldier spoke about this in an interview with Radio Liberty .

“They told me: go to the positions, because there is no one. We went to the position in Kleshcheyevka, near the church. It is an ordinary concrete cellar. When we went there, we noticed how one of our brothers-in-arms remained at the position, he was lying down. He was so thin and exhausted that you could see his bones and spine,” shared “Beshketnik”.

Vladislav recalled how in the first days the fighters who had just arrived at the position tried to feed the exhausted soldier. Soon they began to have problems.

“There was a shortage of water from the very beginning. When we were just entering the position, they packed a lot of water for us, however, as we were walking, we met guys along the road who also did not have enough water and we gave it to them, because we understand how necessary it is. So we reached our position with only one bottle of water,” the soldier added.

Vladislav said that after some time he began to draw marks on the wall in the basement to know how many days he and his brothers-in-arms had been in position.

“Somewhere around the second week there was no water at all. My mouth was dry. We thought that we needed to do something. We had to drink “morsik” – took out a bottle, turned away, peed. It cooled down – drank it,” noted “Beshketnik”.

Vladislav explained that drones usually delivered water, food and ammunition to the military. However, strong winds prevented the drones from reaching them.

“The command told us not to leave the shelter, so as not to give ourselves away. We were so thirsty that when you stand up, you start to sway. We were hungry. We were going crazy because there was no food or water. We instantly went crazy,” the soldier recalled.

“Beshketnik” said that one day they lost contact. He emphasized that for some time thirst and hunger tormented him so much that he crawled out of the shelter without a bulletproof vest and helmet in search of water and food. One day, he and his brothers-in-arms managed to find a well from which they collected water with helmets.

Vladislav added that such forays allowed the Russians to discover the defenders’ position. Soon the occupiers began attacking the Ukrainian military with drones, mortars, and artillery, and also poisoned them with gas.

“First they broke a cellar for us, and then they started throwing gases at us. They threw them at us so much that even a gas mask didn’t help. The gas was so thick that a gas mask didn’t help, everything was burning, you couldn’t breathe. The only thing that saved me, what I understood was that you shouldn’t panic, but breathe calmly. When you breathed calmly, some kind of filtration occurred. After the gas, they throw a grenade. And so: gas – grenade, gas – grenade. So that we would get out of there,” the fighter described the occupiers’ tactics.

Vladislav noted that on some days there was no food at all. According to him, the soldiers had to collect crumbs from the ground.

“At the position, you value what you have. You value that can of stew, you sip it, you chew it. You were sitting there hungry. And when they dropped you food, you were just in seventh heaven. I learned to cook there: they dropped us mashed potatoes, “Mivina”, biscuits. And when you mix “Mivina” with biscuits, that was the most delicious thing. When there was stew, that was heaven! We lost a lot of weight then. I weighed about 50 kilograms, although my weight is about 74-76 kilograms,” the infantryman recalled.

War in Ukraine – important news

Earlier, Viktor Tregubov, a representative of the operational-strategic group of troops “Khortytsia”, said that the Defense Forces have not lost control over the village of Velyka Novosyolka . Ukrainian troops are holding positions in the village, there is no talk of encirclement yet.

In addition, Andrey Polukhin, a representative of the press service of the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Daniel, said that near the city of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk region, units of the Russian special forces unit “Akhmat” are fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine , which includes former “Wagnerites”, as well as militants of the “Rusich” formation. According to the military man, in this area, fighters who have undergone intensive training are fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2025