His sacrifice ‘significantly slowed down’ Russian forces
A Ukrainian soldier is in line to receive a state military award after he sacrificed himself to stop advancing Russian tanks and soldiers.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Vitaliy Skakun Volodymyrovych had been tasked with setting up explosives on the Henichesk Bridge near Crimea to block the route of Russian forces.
However when he realised he would not be able to get off the bridge in time to blow it up before Russian troops crossed, he decided to sacrifice himself and trigger the explosives whilst he was still on it.
His efforts “significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense,” according to a post from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"To stop the advance of the tank column, the decision was to blow up the Henichesk bridge. The engineer Skakun Vitaliy volunteered to perform this task. He mined the brdige but couldn't leave and blew it up together with himself." The unit successfully redeployed – Land Forces pic.twitter.com/7eMWTv03kX
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) February 25, 2022
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared the tragic story on their Facebook page. In a post the department wrote: “On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people give away to the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the hardest places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean intersection, where one of the first enemies met a separate marine battalion.
“In order to stop the promotion of the tank column, a decision was made to overthrow the Geniche Car Bridge.
https://www.facebook.com/100069092624537/posts/258798803099872/
“The engineer of a separate battalion sailor Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich was called to perform this task. The bridge was replaced, but he didn’t have time to get out of there.
“There was an explosion right away. Our brother was killed. His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense.
The post added that Volodymyrovich is set to be honoured with an award for his heroic sacrifice.
It finished: “Russian invaders, know, under your feet the earth will burn! We will fight as long as we live! And as long as we are alive we will fight!”
However, with Russian forces appearing to have made it to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, it is believed that the area Volodymyrovych was defending has now been taken by Russian forces.
Related links:
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- Horrific moment tank crosses road to run over motorist in Ukraine
- ‘This might be the last time you see me alive’, Ukrainian president told EU leaders
- What Brits can do for Ukraine – a resource list
