10/20/2024
The soldiers who joined the Teroborona of Kyiv on February 24 reminded about this in social networks.
Former Minister of Infrastructure, military man Volodymyr Omelyan, who is currently being treated after a serious injury, said that Ukraine was “defended by a militant minority” in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.
“It was the minority that was constantly harmed, followed and persecuted. On February 24, 2022, it finally became not funny and it finally reached the majority: worse has come,” wrote Volodymyr Omelyan on Facebook.
He said that Petro Poroshenko was with the army from the first day and helped the TRO brigades.
“I remember the empty streets of Kyiv, the silence on the air of Ukrainian officials, 90% of whom were dozing behind the Carpathians, weeks of waiting for Ukrainian oligarchs and developers: who will win?, and queues, queues to the military commanders: give them weapons! The question: what to fight? then was the most acute, because the Ukrainian authorities did everything to disrupt the provision of the army and turn Ukrainian cities into easy prey for the Red Army. Petro Poroshenko was with the army from the first day and remains with it to this day. On the first day of the great war, the 206th battalion of the TRO brigade was provided with everything to uniforms and food thanks to his efforts and the help of other volunteers. In the future, dozens of battalions and brigades will receive his support,” Omelyan wrote.
Serhiy Kostynskyi, a military man, remembers how he came to Lavrska, where the 206th battalion of the Red Army was being formed.
“Between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. on February 24, 2022, he came to Lavrska, 16, to the “EU” office. For a few hours, he dragged boxes of weapons and ammunition to some base, all this property was then transported to Lavrska, for the newly created 206th separate battalion 112 of the TrO brigade. Then he was assigned to the RKK-74. At first, he was in the third, following his Crimean Tatar brothers.
“In the third company, it turned out that most of the boys first wandered around Kyiv, on military parades, stood in lines and were refused mobilization. Because they had not served before. At 16 Lavrska Street, they were immediately given weapons and ammunition. Even later, we began to carry out combat operations task. As soon as the Kyiv campaign was over, he and his comrades wrote a report on the agreement to go to Mykolaiv. And he left,” the military man writes.
He emphasized that the 206th TRO battalion was created thanks to Petro Poroshenko.
“Did Poroshenko create the 206th battalion? Yes. Did he provide it with weapons? Yes. Is this battalion today the personification of heroism and resilience, despite the number of personnel losses, primarily from among the volunteers who came to defend the country in the early days? Definitely yes Can Petro Poroshenko claim that he is defending the country from the first day? This is a historical fact,” states Serhii Konstinsky.
The commander of one of the battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Pogrebyskyi , who in the first days of the full-scale invasion organized the combat training of the soldiers of the 206th battalion, participated in the evacuation of the inhabitants of Priirpinia and was one of the first to enter the looted Bucha, emphasized that this battalion was able to be armed thanks to Poroshenko’s speed.
“I remember very well February 24, 2022, because I was very deep in the process of forming the 206th battalion. Which was formed in advance with an approximate skeleton of the staff, because they saw what it was going for! I remember how quickly, thanks to Poroshenko, this battalion was able to be armed, clothed, and shod , and to establish logistics and support, which Biryukov was engaged in”.
In the first days of the full-scale invasion, at the end of February – the beginning of March 2022, most of the state authorities were evacuated from Kyiv to the western regions of Ukraine.
“The first company went to take up positions already at 19:00 on the 22nd, already fully distributed with commanders, machine gunners, grenade launchers and the appropriate weapons! I remember how from the wheels we taught people to use AKs and monitored security measures! I remember both Gudymenko and Shvets, who asked for machine guns and to whom they were issued! I remember the first dead and the first soldier who was captured… (at the intersection of Gostomel Irpin), – writes the officer of the Armed Forces.
He also recalled how the mayor of Irpen asked Poroshenko for help in evacuating people.
“And we did this until the authorities intervened and forbade the 206th to do this! I remember how the 206th received a BR to the south and I remember how Karakai died,” recalls Oleksandr Pogrebyskyi.
SBU General Viktor Kononenko emphasized that in the first hours of the full-scale war, Petro Poroshenko was with the defenders of Kyiv.
“On February 24, 2022, I remember surprisingly well. After the first explosions, around 5:00 a.m., my first call was precisely to the PP, whom I asked the office of “European Solidarity” for the formation of the battalion. Then I dialed the combatant of the 206th battalion of the 112th brigade of the TrO and said that there is a place for deployment, let’s form the 206th battalion of the 112th, and then the 241st brigade of the TrO. We were not the only ones in Kyiv who had hot food, medical and other supplies, and there were a lot of weapons behind them. of the newly formed units. He was not nearby, but with us – part of the only team of volunteers who stood up for the defense of their country. And I did not hear about the authorities, who today talk about their boundless heroism, in the first days of the war, and I deeply doubt that in these days she was in Kyiv at all,” Kononenko wrote.
Military officer Oleksiy Petrov recalls how the Terrodefense was provided at the expense of Poroshenko.
“Together with Yury Biryukov, we will come to the Militarista group. And we will take away everything that is not booked by other units. The total figure in the bill is from the “dark in the eyes” category. Who paid that bill is a rhetorical question. Everything is the same, only on to the warehouse of another company, which also specializes in the sale of tactical clothing. In addition, a lot of pictures in front of the eyes of the machine guns brought by Poroshenko. A million questions were asked with one phone call. Why not mention the new “JAC” pickups, which Biryukov and I drove away for conversion? Where did they come from? wrote Petrov.
The co-chair of the “European Solidarity” faction, Iryna Gerashchenko , who remained in Kyiv from the first days of the invasion, noted that most of the central authorities and the leadership of the security forces hastily left the capital and moved closer to the western border of Ukraine.
“I see, for many Ukrainians, including users of social networks, it was a revelation that on February 24, 2022, the authorities, with the exception of Zelenskyi and several of his associates, fled en masse from Kyiv. Unfortunately, this is true. Starting with the government, which almost went to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Lviv in full, including a large part of the leadership of the OP, the National Council of the People’s Republic of China, the State Prosecutor’s Office, and the prosecutor’s office, who were walking on the slopes of the Carpathians with ski poles until May from Transcarpathia. Sometimes we waited for the opening of the session, because the government buildings were empty, and we could not get through to some of the ministers, who confidentially answered that they were not in Kyiv,” Iryna Gerashchenko emphasized.
“Petro Poroshenko was with the army from the first day and remains with it to this day. On the first day of the great war, the 206th battalion of the TRO brigade was provided with everything to uniforms and food thanks to his efforts and the help of other volunteers. In the future, dozens of battalions and brigades will receive his support,”
Here’s to Mr. Poroshenko, who really has been at the forefront of aiding the AFU in many ways, from drones, to personal equipment, to arms and vehicles. People like him is what makes Ukraine great.
Without Poro reforming the army after putler invaded Crimea, Ukraine would have lost this war a long time ago.
He did a lot for the country, that’s for sure. He could’ve easily fled the country, but the guy stays and helps where he can.
A lot of people seem to forget that Poro was trying to reform and build up the army, whereas Zelensky when he took over was more interested in building new roads and bridges.