In the heart of war, there are sometimes miracles that go unnoticed. Surrounded, wounded, isolated in positions where it was impossible to rescue them, targets of Russian assaults and bombings, “the Biker” and “the Restless” theoretically had no chance of surviving. The military doctor who received the two fighters still can’t believe it.
In a cellar in Donbass serving as a medical post, the officer nevertheless sees the front lines arriving every night, dozens of wounded, the war forever engraved in their bodies. At the entrance to the first aid station, on the brigade flag hanging on the wall, an anonymous hand added an inscription in black marker: “Freedom flows from our veins.”
Emergencyly evacuated from the aid station, then disappeared in the long procession of hundreds of wounded who are distributed every day in hospitals across Ukraine, the two men are, three days later, hospitalized somewhere in the center of the country . The two soldiers, integrated into a front-line infantry unit, agree to tell their adventure on the condition that their names and their unit are not mentioned. The pseudonyms chosen, “the Biker” and “the Restless”, are nods to aspects of their lives.
“The Russians immediately machine-gunned us”
The story begins one day in April, when the “Motor” unit, made up of eight men, distributed two by two over four military positions, must be relieved. “The soldier who accompanied the relief was injured, so I received the order to meet them, to guide them”says the soldier.
The non-commissioned officer takes three men with him and sets off. “At one point, we came out of a thicket, and the Russians immediately machine-gunned us. Two of my men were killed, and I was wounded in the leg. » He loses track of the fourth, who survives. “The Biker” contacts his commander by radio. “Thanks to a drone that saw me, it guided me to the nearest position, held by another army unit. This is where I was given first aid. » A bullet entered his right thigh and exited through the knee, without exploding the joint.
“L’Agité”, who had only joined his comrades on the front the day before, was one of the men who remained in the positions. “The Biker” having left with only the radio, they no longer have any communication with command. The Russians return to the attack even more violently.
“We had two killed, and I was injured four days after the departure of the “Motard”. Only one of us, K., was intact. » “L’Agité” receives a shrapnel in his left leg. “I was buried in the trench, covered in earth by the explosion of the shell. I literally had to dig a way to get to the surface and breathe. » If he had been alone, his fate, “killed or captured” he thinks, would have been sealed. His comrade decides to resist. “K. put a bandage on my leg. He told me: “We are not surrendering. We fight!” He saved my life. »
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