Upon graduation, Konstantin will have both military and civilian specialties. But he had already decided: he would remain in the army.
Photo: Oksana ZUYKO. Go to Photobank KP
Komsomolskaya Pravda introduces you to the heroes of the special operation. These guys may not have a Gold Star on their chest, but it’s not about awards: they defend our country, and we, in turn, pray for them and help in any way we can: some with rubles, others by weaving nets, others simply with a warm word on a postcard.
In the studio of Radio KP there is a modest guy in a dress uniform – Konstantin Morozov. He is only a junior sergeant, but on his chest he already has the Order of Courage, the medal “For Courage”, the medal “For Courage” 2nd class, “For Military Distinction”… And he is only 22 years old.
ENEMY FROM ALL SIDES
– Konstantin, three of your four awards are for specific merit. Tell me how it went.
– I received the Order of Courage in the direction of Kherson. I was in a settlement, a little further away, in the neighboring one, our battalion. The enemy attacked, we gathered forces, took out equipment… but it turned out that he went around, to a neighboring village, where there were almost no personnel left. And the commander of the neighboring battalion and another 15 people were surrounded (three were seriously wounded).
My unit was tasked with getting the guys out of there. We walked 7 kilometers on foot, 2-3 people each, so that the drones would not see us. The locals helped us a lot: they warned us where the checkpoints and observation posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were. As soon as we arrived at the place, a battle broke out. Literally from the house next door there are two machine guns, in front there is one machine gun. We took up a perimeter defense, and our medic treated the wounded. Here our BMDs (landing combat vehicles – Ed.) broke through. We threw the three wounded on the armor, giving them space (we would not all fit). They themselves set off on foot. Fire attacked us from three directions: in front, to the left and to the right of the forest plantation. A comrade who was next to me was wounded, I dragged him on me…
– Was it difficult, comrade?
– Small, but well-fed, and it was extremely difficult to drag it with equipment and armor. In general, we managed to get out both the battalion commander and 15 people.
PANIC OF THE ENEMY
– Why were you awarded the Medal “For Courage”?
– This is also Kherson. Two hills, 300 meters from each other. On one, we, on the second, the enemy. Absolute silence, we communicated only with gestures, because we heard the enemy perfectly and he heard us. And at one of our observation points they asked for help. I and 4 other comrades volunteered.
– Were they attacked?
– Yes. There were two enemy squads, about 20 people.
– And there are five of you to help…
– There are five of us and four of us at the point. Our sapper was killed immediately there; at that time he was placing tripwires and mines. But we know for certain that he was able to kill one.
They came closer, another machine gunner and I opened fire, and as soon as we wounded their officer, they began to have some kind of strange disorder: we thought that they would go ahead themselves… In general, half of them headed towards our mine fields, the second almost ran away. As a result, about 10 people were killed, the rest were simply confused. Many of them died in the minefield – we heard explosions for a long time.
We approached the officer, he was wounded in the leg, he did not resist and said he would surrender. Two others surrendered with him. Senior comrades said that the officer served as a sapper in some well-known Ukrainian special forces.
– It turns out you picked up the language like in the movies.
– From him we learned the location of most of the observation points, his mine map, we knew which part of the road was mined…
POLKA SNIPER
– Another medal – “For bravery”, 2nd grade.
– This is already in Kremennaya. There we took an enemy observation post, which greatly outnumbered us. By the way, there were a lot of Poles there. In general, it was in Kremennaya that I saw the most Polish mercenaries. In Kherson, God willing, one by one, in pairs, then there were units of 20-30 people.
– Did you understand this from the radio interceptions?
– In battle, when we heard their conversations. We were already used to the language, but it was Polish, it was more whistling. They were not even hiding: in one of the shelters we found a Polish flag.
– Weren’t they taken prisoner?
– It didn’t work. But behind them there was a female sniper. Our sniper spotted her and, with the help of machine guns, we suppressed her; we heard screams, but, apparently, she was dragged back when they retreated.
LETTERS GIVE STRENGTH
– How did you become a soldier?
– This is from childhood. I watched it on TV and realized that the real profession of a man is to defend the Motherland. I served in the Preobrazhensky regiment. Then I could not stay in civilian life for long: after half a month I signed a contract with the Airborne Forces.
– Have you been with SVO from the beginning?
– No, starting in May 2022. First Kherson, six months later – Kremennaya. Then the right flank of Bakhmut.
– Where was the most difficult?
– On Creminnaya. It’s forests, poor visibility, winter; it’s very cold there at night. You can’t light a fire. They didn’t come up with anything: after Covid there was a lot of antiseptic left, I took cans of canned food, poured the antiseptic on it and it burned for a long time, giving heat. And then trench candles started arriving as humanitarian aid. It became much easier. Humanitarian aid is very useful.
And the letters from these soldiers’ children… are very important. No matter how strong you are in spirit, your strength is not infinite. But just by reading this letter at night with a trench candle… something stirs inside you, you understand that you are needed. This gives strength.
“MOM, I’M IN TRAINING”
– How do your parents feel about you being in the military?
– When I went to the Northern Military District, I didn’t tell them. She said: training, in the forest, without connection. And then they received a call from the regiment and asked for information. The mother asked why. And the regiment simply told me (laughs) that I was in the Northern Military District. At first my mother was worried… But they are still proud, for which I am very grateful to them. They support us in word and deed.
Veterans at a desk with schoolchildren.
Today Konstantin is studying at the Higher Combined Arms Command School in Moscow. Moreover, after graduation he will receive two educations at once: military (commander of motorized rifle units) and civil (personnel management). But he says that he has chosen his path: to become a soldier. “This is what my soul is about.”
– Did you act like a veteran of the Northern Military District?
– In Kremennaya I suffered a spinal injury. When I was in the hospital, I realized that I needed to move on. When I entered, benefits helped me a lot: I still passed everything on my own, but benefits allowed me to enter school (for service in the Northern Military District zone, soldiers receive additional points in entrance exams. – Ed.).
– Aren’t you afraid that in the three years you have left to study we will defeat everyone and, in fact, there will be no work left for the military?
– I would really like to take part, to help my friends in some way. We were literally looking forward to going to Kursk, but cadets are not supposed to fight.
– Do teachers have time to update the programme taking into account the experience of SVO?
– They try, they follow all the news, they communicate very actively with the participants of the Northern Military District, they ask how they were doing, how the enemy performed, how the units generally worked with each other.
– You came to school as an adult, after the hardest battles in the Northern Military District, with awards. And sitting next to them are kids who graduated from school yesterday. Don’t you have any hazing there?
– We, as members of the SVO, try to share some experiences. Sometimes we approach the command again and ask for extra hours: let’s train at the training ground or somewhere else. The command meets halfway.
WHAT BENEFITS DOES THE CONTRACT SERVICE OFFER?
FOR MILITARY SERVICES
Opportunity to purchase a home provided by the Ministry of Defense through the savings-mortgage system.
Housing service or rental compensation.
Combat veteran status and related benefits.
Free examination, treatment and rehabilitation in military medical institutions.
Life and health insurance.
Two weeks of paid leave at least once every six months.
Military pension after 20 years of service.
Credit and tax holidays.
TO THE FAMILY
Vouchers for children’s holiday camps.
Fees for children’s education at universities.
Benefits when paying for housing and communal services.
*Each region additionally establishes its own benefits. You can find out about them at the MFC.
LISTEN ALSO
They did it without respect: Zelensky attacked China and Brazil (more details)
