Ten years in a war is a lifetime. I mean, it’s a seriously long time. Especially when there was nothing in between your high school years and war; when you missed out on the typical stuff young folks usually live for: student parties, trips, disco nights…
At eighteen, this young man headed out to defend his homeland. He felt compelled, as if it was something he had to do. Initially, his parents doubted that their son, who had just begun at the Institute of Physical Education in Dnipro, would actually leave everything behind to go to war. They were even a bit angry and in disbelief. But when they realised they couldn’t dissuade him, they stood by his decision.
The young soldier won’t be back at the institute for another six years, and even then, it’ll just be to collect the documents he turned in. Maybe he regretted it more than once, especially in the beginning when it was tough and daunting. But that’s all in the past now, a distant memory.
Today, the man known by his callsign “Kozachok” stands as one of the most seasoned fighters in his unit, the Special Forces “Dnipro Stormtroopers” of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. He has a wealth of battles and clashes with the Russian enemy behind him.
Kozachok mentions that whenever he chooses he could easily slip back into the student life, full of carefree days and free of worries. He dreams of travelling: “I want to see the world after the war”… But for now, there are more pressing matters. “If we lose the country I love, what value does student life hold without it?!”
In fact, “Kozachok” is what his close buddies call him. Officially, the fighter goes by the pseudonym Kozak. But when you see him, you can’t help but want to use the nickname his friends and comrades do—Kozachok, a diminutive from “Kozak”. At only 28 years old, he doesn’t look it one bit, even though he can outmatch any seasoned veteran. As the saying among the fighters goes, “He’s been burned in a tank and flown as a pilot.”
Kozachok will never forget his first combat mission alongside his brothers-in-arms from the Right Sector. “It was intense,” he remembers, “the adrenaline was off the charts, I didn’t know where to put myself. And it was really scary. Initially, we were tasked with digging trenches. We did that while it was quiet. But as night fell, the fighting began. That’s when I truly grasped the reality of war. The first thought that came to my mind was, what am I doing here at this age? That’s when I made up my mind: if I survive till morning, I’m grabbing my things and heading home, because I don’t want to die.”
Photo: Roman Malko
Ten years down the line, reflecting on his initial fears and the multitude of experiences since, Kozachok confesses that even today, when gearing up for battle, he still feels a twinge of fear. “Each time we head out, I don’t voice it, but I always silently repeat to myself: ‘God, save and protect us.’ It’s all pretty daunting, of course, because I still want to make it out alive. War is an unpredictable beast; you never know when luck will be on your side and when it won’t.”
But it wasn’t that first battle of his that was the toughest and when his desire to escape was strongest. “In 2016 or 2017,” the fighter recalls, “I don’t exactly remember. It was at Kruta Balka near Avdiivka. Now, the Russians are there. We were working against separatists and hit their commanders’ gathering point. About 10 minutes after that, a tank rolled out and started shelling our residential area directly. There’s a small community consisting of countryside cottages there; there is nowhere to hide. And that tank just started shelling at one house after another. We were sitting in the basement, praying that our house would be spared. And it happened. After that, we were evacuated from there. It was very hot and very scary near Avdiivka at that time. I don’t even want to remember it.”
The motivation to fight varies for everyone, the fighter is convinced. For some, it’s their children; for others, their parents or something entirely different. Kozachok finds his inspiration in his brothers-in-arms. “They’re all unique: some are musicians, some are artists, some are barbers. I simply draw inspiration from these individuals and am grateful to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. It’s our unique dynamic. I thrive on it. And I’m grateful to be here.”
“I believe we simply have to get the job done; it’s what fate has dealt us. The key is to ensure it’s not a dire fate.”
He mentions that initially, he was quite unsettled upon returning to “normal” life and witnessing people acting carefree despite the ongoing war in the country. However, he eventually stopped paying it much heed. He confesses that he even sympathises with them because they are misled by propaganda. “When intense battles rage here on the front lines and our comrades fall, the Ukraine’s United News TV telethon claims we’re triumphant. That’s not how it should be. We ought to inform people of the truth so they feel fear, anger, a desire to join the fight, to push this menace as far away from their homes as possible.”
On one hand, Kozachok acknowledges that war is a personal choice—everyone must decide for themselves whether to join the army or not. However, on the flip side, he notes, “At the very least, it doesn’t seem quite fair to those people in the trenches, while physically fit guys carry on as usual in gyms and clubs, going about their work and living a relatively peaceful life. Perhaps I might have desired a peaceful civilian life too.”
Regardless, the soldier is convinced that many will have to engage in combat. Therefore, he suggests starting preparations early, emphasising the importance of physical fitness above all. This, he believes, will improve the chances of survival. “As we’ve already witnessed, our neighbours [Russians – ed.] have come to kill us. They barely know us, and yet they already hate us. They hate me, for instance, as well. Why? Simply because I am Ukrainian. How does that make sense? Because I have different thoughts and perspectives, which they despise, and they wish to kill me for it?”
“Victory will come when people stop dying,” says Kozachok. Soldiers, civilians, children, elderly people—that will be victory for me. Even if the front lines remain as they are, it will still be a victory for me because victory means that we haven’t given up. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hope to see and feel it soon.”
When asked if the war has changed him, he responds with conviction. “I now have even less tolerance for the ‘katsaps’ [slang for “Russian” – ed.],” he states. “So much blood has been shed; that’s why I detest them, and I am even more determined to rid our country of them, to keep them as far away from us as possible. Because they won’t allow us to live in peace.”
