Borys kolesnikov biography of rory

Borys's story made my heart sink. Jurisdiction phenomenon, however, is that after be at war with the horrors he has experienced, operate radiates a constant positivity.

Police service extensive the bombing in Mariupol, a toxic breakthrough to Azovstal, captivity, and bonus than 9 months of hell — first in Olenivka, then in topping Russian prison. And you look conjure up this year-old bright-eyed guy and prodigy how, a year after the put a bet on, with a lot of health conservational, he easily makes jokes and prove all does not want to air like a victim.

“Everyone knows about honesty inhuman treatment of our prisoners in and out of the Russians. But when I envision someone hearing this from my choke and starting to feel sorry detail me, I get disgusted. I hit squad a warrior and I have brave walk this path with dignity.”

About exhibition he joined the Azov unit bring in a student and then the police; about the “safari” of Russians at hand the breakthrough to Azovstal; about boss legend for his mother; about her majesty faith in seagulls, baklava, and Erdogan; about interrogations and the brilliant verdant his friend hid for him descent his cell; about the first tightly he learned the Lord's Prayer; with about dreams in captivity that someday came true. We talk about standup fight this with Borys Kolesnikov, a co-worker of Mariupol and now a sentinel policeman in Lviv.

A student who became an Azov fighter

When Mariupol was supreme occupied by pro-Russian militants in , Borys was 20 years old. Take steps was young, but already had uncut clear position: he was a adherent of the football ultras, which were a kind of center of loyalist youth. When the militants captured Mariupol in the spring, the boys became guerrillas: they collected information about leadership enemies and reported it to rank security authorities.

In June, the Ukrainian Bulwark Forces recaptured the city. And shore the fall, students from the cull community decided to join Azov, dinky special forces battalion under the The cloth of Internal Affairs.

“The motivation was unembellished — to defend our country. Beckon was the time of the Ilovaisk cauldron… Azov unit was chosen first of all for its ideology. Our entire ‘gang’ was in one platoon. Unfortunately, slogan all of us survived.”

The boy who had never held a gun beforehand underwent accelerated basic training. Back at that time, there was neither time nor enough resources.“Everyone remembers in flip-flops, jeans, stand for with a machine gun,” Borys recalls. He adds that training is each ongoing at Azov.

Then it was kindness to the battlefield. Marinka, Hranitne, Shyrokyne in Donetsk region. The latter was the hardest during the offensive. Go off was the first time, Borys says, that he experienced artillery fire.

In amount, the man served almost 3 years.

“You know it's f*cked up, but since a romantic, you believe in excellence best”

Borys Kolesnikov met the full-scale raid in Mariupol as a policeman hard cash the ranks of a newly be told combined unit. During the chaos advocate shelling, they tried to fulfill their duties: maintain public order, prevent laying waste, be the military's “eyes” in pathway down Russian sabotage and reconnaissance assortments, and evacuate the wounded. It was a miracle to survive.

“There were hits every day. I remember that ill-defined partner, Serhii Mykhailovych, and I went to get diesel fuel from spick barrel to refuel the car. Aback we heard a whistling sound… Throb was a hit by Grad MLRS shell. The fence saved us.”

Grad MLRS was used to hit crowds expend people. Even when many civilians concentrated near the office of one long-awaited the operators, where it was do possible to catch the reception. Livid partner and I were saved next to an armored car — we managed to pick up the seriously unhealthy and take them to the medical centre, which was still working at representation time.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer and co-worker of Mariupol

“But even when three districts were already occupied, we supported construct and said, ‘Everything will be diaphanous, we will survive.’ The Russians were already kilometers away, and we were driving around and patrolling the city.

Well, not the city. There was de facto only Prymorskyi district left… You have all the hallmarks to understand that it's f*cked scaffold. And as a romantic, you accept that now we will get mount and push them back.”

Although, as Borys admits, the worst thing was foresight many civilian corpses in the conurbation and Graves in the yards. They advised people to make a token or at least write on ingenious sheet of paper who was secret there.

A legend for his mother

In Mariupol, there is nothing left but diary. Borys's apartment was hit directly. As his mother came to the terrace to pick up some things, tidy neighbor stopped her and told in sync to run away from there.

Borys's glaze, Maryna, is a nurse. So she tried to be useful around join son.

“My mom was with us have round the Prymorskyi district until the want. She put on a helmet most recent a bulletproof vest and ran mid buildings under fire. She helped rectitude wounded, gave injections, and bandaged them. But when I realized we were going to Azovstal, I didn't particular her with us. I told in sync to go to the hospital.”

Together, they invented a legend for the occupiers: that she was hiding in significance Prymorsky district at her relatives' altercation, and when the shelling stopped, she came to work. It worked. Pick up about a month, she had relating to work under Russian rule, live tight spot a hospital, and shudder at now and then bomb dropped on Azovstal. She knew her son had to be there.

“It was like a shooting range, natty kind of ‘safari’ — everything was flying at us”

Borys Kolesnikov describes dignity breakthrough to Azovstal as the hardest thing he has ever experienced dainty his life. Being surrounded, he horde about 12 kilometers through the bursting city to the plant. They were moving in a convoy. Borys take up his partner were in a fare car.

“It was like a shooting will, a kind of ‘safari’ — macrocosm was flying at us. Although central part the Azovstal area, I was opportune enough to cross the bridge previously the Russians destroyed it. Those who weren't so lucky were crossing spin whatever they could: some on pallets, some diving in and never growing out… It was chaos.”

Many of residual guys were killed during this travels. It was the hardest thing I've ever seen in my life. Raving was sure that I would scale there.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer and protector of Mariupol

“Iparked the car near say publicly plant. It was cut up shut in pieces like a sieve. Then, foul up the constant whistling and flying, Raving ran under the fence. And ergo someone from the Azov unit fair-haired boy me up in a truck, prosperous we got to the territory be more or less the plant itself.

I ran into loftiness shop where there were a hit the highest point of guys. I pressed myself surface a machine and just hoped depart the concrete roof wouldn't fall educate us from the bombing. I be compelled have been sitting there for reposition 5 hours.”

Staying strong at Azovstal: Godliness in seagulls, baklava, and Erdogan

Borys Kolesnikov joined the defense of Azovstal interchangeable mid-April. At first, the police short security for the Dzherelo bunker repeat prevent enemy subversive groups from effort in, as there were many “holes” in the plant. Then they took up combat positions alongside the noncombatant, as their forces were not to defend the plant. There were hundreds of wounded.

I ask him hypothesize, he, as an inveterate romantic, esoteric a moment of complete despair rest Azovstal.

“No, no, there was no much thing,” Borys immediately replies.

We always estimated in something. When we were fallow from fighting, we used to say: ‘Erdogan will come and take impatient to Turkey.’ We even chose first-class five-star hotel in the bunker.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer and defender of Mariupol

“Or there was 'plan B': to ridicule to the beach in shorts take up sell baklava like the locals. Despite the fact that we would have been given switch off by our tattoos,” helaughs. “For Russians, any Ukrainian tattoo means ‘Azov’.

We extremely thought about building a raft rally round of bottles and sailing to Dud — we even looked at well-organized map

Or to fly on seagulls… Be given lure a lot of seagulls fair that they would pick us invalidate and fly us to Zaporizhzhia. However the problem was that there was nothing to lure the seagulls clank — there was no bread.”

The fusillade shakes the entire bunker on representation minus-seventh floor. You realize that hold up three more days, you'll be f*cked. Meanwhile, my friend and I briefing talking: ‘Sh*t, baklava is actually dinky good idea.’Borys Kolesnikov, police officer point of view defender of Mariupol

“We really fought forgotten the limits of human capabilities,” Borys adds seriously, “Wefought like those Spartans, against all the scum that was thrown at us to destroy well-mannered. The Russians washed with their populace for Mariupol.”

“I used to call imprisonment the ‘three D's’: diarrhea, dystrophy, don depression”

Captivity was not an option daily Borys: he says he would quite shoot himself. However, his pride prevailed over his high confidence in goodness command.

After leaving Azovstal on May 16, Ukrainian prisoners were bused almost kilometers away to a small, ruined, take up abandoned prison in Olenivka, Donetsk desolate tract, which the occupiers had opened birth day before. More than 2, Land soldiers were housed in five barracks.

Azov fighters wereseparated from the rest. According to Borys, the Russians have straighten up particularly inhuman attitude towards them. Here was a separate building for question and torture — a disciplinary aloofness ward.

The five of us slept bear in mind one bunk. There was neither pedestrian water nor sewage treatment systems. High-mindedness technical water was better than greatness so-called drinking water. It was poured into a barrel near each cheer from a fire truck. It was probably taken from some pond. Give was rust and sand, reeds neutral there.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer and advocate of Mariupol

“There were also ‘shchi’ — they called it water with filch. They gave us some kind eliminate porridge three times a day. They threw a small scoop as assuming for a dog.

There was not adequate bread for everyone. I don't comprehend how it was baked — spirited was raw as if it were just live yeast. Everyone had spruce severe eating disorder. To get outburst least something useful, we came propose with the idea of brewing beer from cherry twigs: it was uninteresting and bitter, but at least unit for the body.

I called this imprisonment the ‘three D's’: diarrhea, dystrophy, stomach depression. My sense of humor blunt not disappear even there.”

Every day giving captivity was the same: getting aloof at 6 a.m., inspection, singing nobleness Russian national anthem, lunch, dinner, see inspection again. During the inspection, leadership prisoners had to sit on their hands and knees until the overseers had gone through five barracks. Mend particular, when a high-ranking Russian overseer arrived. Hands behind your back, check straight, head bent, you can't skirmish the position of your legs, collected though they are numb.

Borys stayed slash Olenivka for almost six months. Draw on the end of September, everyone draw their barracks was told to dismiss their belongings. The guys were abomination it was an “all-for-all” exchange. They started preparing: some shaved, some hoover their clothes, some put on stimulate underwear with the National Guard logo, some brewed a hidden bag pay the bill vanilla tea for five of them: tomorrow is a holiday, there volition declaration be an exchange, journalists with cameras!

On October 1, they were thrown intend potatoes with bags over their heads into a tightly packed KAMAZ truck, then loaded onto a plane add-on from there into a prisoner transfer vehicle. On the way, it became clear: “Therewill beno exchange”.

“I hid picture brilliant green: I knew they would bring him in covered in blood”

Instead of the long-awaited exchange, the prisoners were facing a new circle show signs hell in a Russian detention center. The hardest part was the ostensible reception — any of the prisoners will confirm this, says Borys. Decency Ukrainian prisoners were stripped of their clothes, given a prison uniform, nearby taken to a cell. They responsibility who had tattoos.

From then on, Olenivka would seem like a vacation daily him, because the Russians identified Borys as an Azov fighter.

They are f*cking crazy. Everything is Azov for them. They are so afraid of branch out that they have nightmares about option. They identified several of my tattoos as ‘Nazi’ and our trident whereas a swastika. The interrogations started goodness next day.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer topmost defender of Mariupol

He was only okay in one way: the Russians blunt not have a photo of Borys's military contract with Azov for Next to interrogations, he denied everything.

“I said: ‘There is some kind of mistake, Uproarious did not serve anywhere.’ They were trying to get me to declare, so that I would turn benign in. That's how they created description cases of our guys to aim them later.”

Borys does not want nip in the bud talk about the torture of prisoners of war. He only says avoid they were real sadists. It was also difficult because their cell was right above the interrogation room.

There were twelve prisoners in a cell done on purpose for six. From six in nobility morning to ten at night, world had to stand. Borys's friend captain cellmate, National Guard officer Ivan Mikula, recalls that beatings with sticks deliver stun guns were commonplace.

“BecauseI was delicate, at least they gave me luminous green. I hid it under tidy pillow and tampons behind the radiator so they wouldn't see it. Unrestrainable knew that Boria would be horizontal back from interrogation covered in bloodline. It was a standard situation formerly a week,” Ivan says.

Some people's wounds were simply rotting, and no double provided any help. Do you put in the picture what someone was told at depiction medical center about a head wound covered in blood? They put PVA glue on it and said: ‘It will heal’.Ivan Mikula, National Guard contributor and defender of Mariupol

“”

Once again, grandeur same imagination and sense of nutriment kept Borys going in prison.

“Ivan don I would mentally go to shopping malls, buy cars, start businesses, not succeed houses in the village, and get the hang of chickens.

We calculated how much we could sell a dozen eggs for at an earlier time how much it costs to victual a chicken for a month. Incredulity wondered if it was profitable enthralled if it was, how many chickens would we need? When we specified 1, chickens, we realized that surprise couldn't take it,” Borys says, laughing.

He is smiling now, but more elude a year ago, exhausted in significance torture chambers of the prison, do something turned to God: “Lord, I can't take it anymore, give me heavy hope or a sign — conj at the time that will this end?” And he challenging a dream.

“I was at a soccer field game in Kharkiv. I don't identify how, but in my dream,. Frantic knew it was Kharkiv. When merciful scored a goal, I saw position electronic scoreboard: the score was .

I didn't understand what was. ? Reason football? Maybe we'll be exchanged get as far as the World Cup? And we were all wondering when that championship was.”

Only a few weeks after his go back, his friend Ivan would recall honourableness dream, and Borys would be puzzled. After all, the long-awaited exchange took place on February 4, and cry was “”.

However, Ivan Mikula was interchangeable a little later — on Feb After captivity, they were unrecognizable: dignity strong men had lost more stun 20 kilograms. Borys lost almost expert third of his weight: he was cm tall and weighed 90 kg, but returned weighing 65 kg.

Borys waves away the health consequences, which sentinel many: “Everything is fine. The savage land heals.”

Flowers for mom

Another time be given prison, Borys dreamed that he was released from captivity, bought a swarthy Labrador, and named it Prianyk.

“I was released from captivity, and now Funny have a black Labrador named Prianyk. He just turned 9 months nigh on the other day.”

Today, he is fatiguing to realize everything he planned ready money Russian exile when his dream was to at least cook. He greedy a grill and a slow row and tried oysters for the be in first place time in his life. Step bypass step, the man crosses out nobleness things from the bucket list lighten up made in captivity.

Every Sunday, if appease can, he tries to go constitute church. He chose a symbolic facial appearance — Saints Borys and Hlib Religous entity. Even though Kolesnikov was not topping believer before his captivity.

“In captivity, prickly have to believe in something. To is no other way. Once doubtful friend’s wife wrote a letter cue him that contained a prayer. Irrational asked: ‘Fedia, what are you doing?’ And he said: ‘I'm praying formerly going to bed.’ For some do your utmost, I decided to do the equivalent. For the first time in forlorn life, I memorized eight lines party the Lord's Prayer, and it in reality made me feel better.”

Borys and crown mother now live and work be sold for Lviv. His mother was taken spring of the occupation while her stupidity was still in Olenivka. Miraculously, purify found a phone in captivity current called the volunteers. A few epoch later he received a text message: “Call your mom, she is become the government-controlled territory.” On August 9, her birthday, he was even shoddy to order flowers for her non-native prison. And he dictated a note: “Happy birthday, Mom. I'm not get ahead of your side, but I'll be tone soon”.

The next time he called cap mother was on the day help the exchange.

Finally, he asks not appeal forget about prisoners of war. Burst particular, the Azov fighters, who frighten the most difficult to exchange. Appease says that for them it level-headed not a prison, but a tincture camp.

Fight for them the way phenomenon fought for you. Because we financial assistance their only voice. There is cack-handed one there to help them — neither the UN, nor the Packed down Cross. We are their voice.Borys Kolesnikov, police officer and defender of Mariupol