“Shoot with everything they had”: Ivan survived 7 months in the hell of Bakhmut’s “throwaway troops” – Russia is now burning these units at the front

“I never fought against the Russian army,” says Ivan Mateichenko. This despite the fact that the Ukrainian businessman was at war for about a year. “In the Bachmut area, we only fought against Wagner soldiers,” explains the 33-year-old in an interview with CH Media. They allegedly made life difficult for him and his unit for seven months – “especially in the beginning”.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Matveichenko was chief financial officer of a real estate development company in Kyiv. Within a few days he traveled to Western Ukraine with his wife and two children (aged six and seven). There they parted ways. They continued to Poland and he enrolled at the nearest recruiting center. He did not see his family again until a year later.

A few weeks later, Mateichenko enrolled in the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade. A specialized infantry unit trained for mountain warfare. A month after joining the army, he was sent to the Donbass region in the Bakhmut area, where he stayed for seven months. Most of them on the front line. His idea of ​​war had been relatively vague until then. “I could never have imagined what to expect,” he says.

In the beginning, the mercenaries were still well positioned

“The Russians know when the Ukrainian troops change,” says Matveichenko. They were met with continuous fire for six to eight hours. “We were in the trenches and could barely hold our heads up. They shot with everything they had. Everything around us flew through the air. Sometimes parts fell so close to me that the dirt flew into my face on impact.”

Initially there was no response from its own army because Ukraine had hardly any ammunition and modern weapons in the first months of the war. The Wagner group, on the other hand, was well equipped and its troops well trained. However, the roles have changed over time. “We got more and more guns and they ran out of ammunition and soldiers.” Most recently, in the spring, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened the Russian government with the withdrawal of his mercenaries from Bakhmut.

“When we fought against the Wagner Group in the summer of 2022, they were very tactical. As a result, they had only small losses,” says Mateichenko. A few months later, the quality of the fighters dropped drastically. “They just ran as close to us as possible and started digging and then shooting at us,” he says. As a result, they would soon have suffered many more losses. “But because they had enough people recruited in prison to replace the fallen mercenaries, they were still effective.”

The area is now under Russian control. Mateichenko says capturing Bakhmut would have been a victory for Russia if they took the city after a month. “But they fought almost a year over Bachmut. First in the suburbs and then in the city itself,’ the infantryman said.

While enjoying coffee, the dead are counted

Thousands of lives were lost in the fighting for Bakhmut – including Mateichenko’s unit. He can’t say how much exactly. “When I saw the first dead in the war, I was terrified,” he says.

But over time you get used to it.

Still, the months on the frontline did not simply pass him by. If something serious has happened, the soldiers can go away from the front for a few days to recharge their batteries. “When you do it that much, and like I said, we’ve been fighting for seven months, seven months straight with no change and no break, then at some point it becomes too much.”

However, eventually Mateichenko left the army due to back problems. They are more common in infantry soldiers than you might think. “We carry so much weight and sleep in the cold trenches. Over time, this leads to the fact that you can hardly walk anymore. »

After about three months in hospital, Matweitschenko is now in Poland with his family. “I feel like an old man, but the distance from the war and the time with my children and my wife have done wonders for my psyche,” says the real estate entrepreneur. But soon he wants to return with his family to his homeland – not to the front.

However, he continues to support his troops: “I regularly bring them and other units uniforms, night vision goggles, pick-up trucks and whatever else I can find.” A friend of his is also committed – with Swiss help – to the civilian population in the war zone: Swiss Aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian Victim Support support his organization.

After the war, Mateichenko wants to continue to help and contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine. «I like to build things, I’m a real estate developer. I will help where I can.” (aargauerzeitung.ch)