Throughout this period, he had to change not only combat units but also military specialization: John was a scout, a sapper, a machine gunner, and eventually became a combat medic.
After long-term treatment and being unfit to continue serving in assault units, the Odesa resident found a place, oddly enough, in the International Legion, among foreign volunteers.
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John joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine when he was 18, in 2019. He enlisted in the 132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Airborne Forces, where he served for 4 years.
From Odesa to the border with belarus
An hour after the war started, John was already sitting on the armor of an armored personnel carrier heading towards the belarusian border, to the Prypiat area. It was there that one of the directions of the russian invasion from the territory of belarus was:
"That's how the war started for me. At 6 am, I was already sitting on an APC, packed with ammunition. The most interesting thing is that the night before, I was having a rest with my girlfriend, and she told me: 'What if there is a war...' Then I answered her: 'What... a war?'" John recalls.
"First, there was the belarusian border, the so-called Kyiv operation, then we were transferred to Sviatotohirsk. There we were pushed across the river, the monastery was still so beautiful there, maybe you know. Then we were transferred to Izium, the Izium operation. And there I got my first injury. After that, we were taken out to replenish. We returned to Bakhmut. Then there was Robotyne, Orikhove in the Zaporizhzhia region."
After his experience, John had all the legal grounds to leave the service. Someone else would certainly have taken advantage of this opportunity. The paratrooper justifies his decision to stay very simply:
"If everyone thinks like this, we will definitely lose this war."
The secret of survival from Odesa
During the three years of war, John received several complex injuries: from stretch marks, kamikaze drones, to grenades dropped from a drone directly into a trench:
"60 percent of success is always luck. My last injury was in February last year. The village of Andriivka. We were just hit with drones and shells. We didn't pay attention to mortars and artillery anymore, because you know, it doesn't hit you, unlike drones. The hardest thing was when they threw 'eggs' (a pair of two grenades - ed.) into our foxhole. The armor saved me, the attacker saved me, but my arm was slightly injured: two bones were broken — a nasty marginal fracture!" the legionnaire recalls.
However, John managed not only to survive but also to continue fighting effectively as part of the International Legion, to which he transferred after his last injury in Maryinka:
"To be honest, this is one of the best units I have served in, because I have something to compare it to. Adequate command, no Sovietization. You know, when it's all "according to the rules." There is no such thing here. Everything is clear: classes, training.
What's on the personal front
John is an orphan who grew up without parents, but in Odesa, he found his new family: he met a girl, and her parents accepted John as their son. However, even his beloved could not influence John's decision to continue serving after being wounded.
"My girlfriend said to me nothing but curses. She said I was an idiot. In fact, she understands me, but it doesn't make it easier for her," he explains.
After the war, John, like most soldiers, dreams of being in serenity, settling somewhere in a house so that no one disturbs him. This is not surprising, as the war in Ukraine is unlike any other and changes every day. And at the front line, it is louder than ever:
"I want a house with a view of a river, with a fireplace and a sideboard with good alcohol, and a big, big library. This is my dream, and my plans are to win the war and get married.
To learn more about the International Defense Legions of Ukraine, please visit the official website.
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