Oleksandr V. Savenkov

Before the mobilization into the army, I worked as a miner at UPR-3 of the "Dnipro" mining administration. Roman Donik: "Checkpoint 10. Anniversary. Today the guys will go to lay flowers at the monument to fallen comrades. Checkpoint 10 in Novoselivka, at the turn to Umanske… The battle near it was one of the first where terrorists used heavy armored vehicles for a frontal attack. The task was to draw the enemy's tanks away from Sloviansk. We succeeded. We repelled the tank attack practically with only small arms. Seven people died that day. Among them was Colonel Volodymyr Mamadaliyev. I was sleeping nearby in a tent when I visited them. A direct hit from a tank shell. He was identified by the boots we brought the day before. That was when I clearly understood the debt we owe them. We do not make them happier by bringing them supplies. We do not ease their daily lives. We provide the minimum that the country cannot yet give. We bring what will make it more comfortable for them to fight for us. And if necessary — to die for us. During one trip to the battlefield, we saw a cross. A cross made from the remains of beds from a burned tent at the checkpoint. Almost two months have passed. Approaching the intersection, we saw two camouflaged vehicles leaving the roadside near the cross. They were not vehicles from the 93rd brigade. They were vehicles from units that had not previously been in that area. Passing by, everyone stops to honor the fallen comrades. Bushes of flowers were planted under the cross. And a monument with the names of the guys was erected. This may seem like a trifle, but it is not a trifle. In such times. In those places, battles are still ongoing, and every day the guys risk their lives. And every day, passing by, they remember the fallen. I believe that no one will be forgotten or abandoned. It just takes a little time. Almost every day, guys who need our help die. And the least we can do is bring what will make them comfortable."