I KNOW EVERY CORNER OF MY TOWN
Stormtrooper Nikita (call sign “Stitch”) is only 23 years old. But he managed to fight in Syria, Africa, Donbass and the Kharkov direction. He has the Order of Courage, the St. George Cross and the medal “For Military Distinction”. And another 26 shrapnel wounds and 3 bullet wounds. And now he is fighting at home, in the Kursk region. Literally at home, because he comes from the village of Korenevo, where, together with other fighters, he has been fighting off enemy attacks for more than a week, preventing him from taking the village and taking the direct road to the city of Rylsk, which is only 20 km away.
Nikita went to Kursk just for a day to buy drones and thermal imaging cameras, and then returned.
“The situation is tense, but we managed to stop the enemy. Last night, one Ukrainian T-72 tank and two lightly armoured vehicles were destroyed, and about 30 infantrymen were killed,” he said.
Among the defenders are local residents of Korenevo and nearby villages. Men of different ages: from 25 to 60 years old. They did not participate in the SVO. But they volunteered to defend their land. There is even a church bell ringer who took up a machine gun. They are fighting desperately, because there is no other way.
“I am at home. I know every corner of my hometown. And the neighbouring towns: Olgovka, Kremyanoye, Sudzha, I have been everywhere,” says Nikita.
The enemy was now trying to encircle Korenevo. They came close to the village, but could not advance further.
— The enemy is mainly Ukrainians, young and older than 50-60 years old. There are also Georgians, Poles and Americans in Korenevo, — lists Stich. — A lot of armored vehicles: “Strikers”, “Cossacks”. But Russian RPGs and ATGMs burn any equipment, no matter Strykers, Leopards or Abrams. There are a lot of enemies, but we hold on. All my comrades are in calm mode, not in panic mode. This is our land.
FOR THEM LIFE IS NOT WORTHY
There is fighting in Korenevo, but there are still civilians. When the Ukrainian Armed Forces invaded the Kursk region, few of the locals understood that they had to leave. There were families who were forced to leave their retired parents because they flatly refused to go. You can’t take it by force! And now, according to Nikita, some residents of Korenevo have been killed. He himself helped remove the bodies.
Those who survived would be happy to leave the village, but this is often impossible. The enemy has occupied the neighbouring houses and will not let them out. And the car with the volunteer rescuers will be shot at the entrance. The road from Rylsk to Korenevo is under the control of sabotage groups and drones. There are many burnt-out civilian cars along the roads: people tried to leave and did not get there in time. Many were not even killed by shells, but were shot in cold blood by machine gunners. Nikita claims that he himself saw from a reconnaissance drone how Ukrainian soldiers and mercenaries killed people. But he could not help.
“They shoot at the locks of houses, break in and kill people. They ambush civilian vehicles,” Nikita says. “They are basically Nazis. They have no respect for another person’s life. It is worthless to them. And they also kill their own people if they contradict them.”
Nikita got married a month ago. I saved up money for an apartment, but I had to pay part of it for thermal imaging cameras and drones. His parents managed to leave for Kursk and he is happy with them.
FROM TANKS TO STORM TROOPERS
“Stitch” was awarded the Order of Courage for the battle of Izyum, when, wounded, he pulled out and saved 11 people in his tank. It was then that he received most of his injuries. He is a former tanker, commander of the T-80 tank. And now an ordinary attack aircraft carrier.
“I’m just defending my homeland,” Nikita explains. “And I’m not leaving here until this is all over.”
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