Four Air Force servicemen captured eleven occupants: officer "Major" told how it all happened. Video

Four Ukrainian Air Force soldiers captured 11 Russian attack aircraft. This happened at the beginning of a full-scale invasion during the fighting near Kharkiv.

The defenders fought an enemy assault group that came almost close to their positions and emerged victorious. A story about that battle by an Air Force officer with the pseudonym "Major" was published on the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Air Force.

He said that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he was in command of the battalion tactical group's rifle squad. At the time of the events in question, the soldiers of this battalion were holding the line on the northeastern outskirts of Kharkiv, in the Saltivka neighborhood.

On that day, the Russians attempted another assault on the positions of the Ukrainian battalion with several assault groups.

"We used aerial reconnaissance to detect enemy units and began to inflict fire damage with the help of drops, collective weapons, such as mortars, machine guns, grenade launchers, and thus repel the assault to prevent the enemy from approaching our units holding the line on the ground. One of the groups managed to approach our forward positions. And we heard the report of its detection from the soldiers who were holding the defense directly at the position itself. That is, the enemy suddenly appeared at a distance of 5 meters from our unit," Major said.

At the time of the enemy assault, there were only four Ukrainian soldiers at the front line. They reported to their comrades about the number of Russians and started fighting on their own.

"We faced the question of whether to give them the command to retreat or continue to fight. Because we understood the number of the enemy, we understood the numerical advantage and the possible consequences. The commander decided to hold the line and gave me the order. We again started to inflict fire damage with drops, began to use kamikaze drones on the enemy unit, which at that moment was dispersed opposite our position and was preparing for an assault," the soldier recalls.

The strikes on the invaders were successful and forced the Russian stormtroopers to seek shelter. They found it in an abandoned house.

"The only solution was to destroy this house before the enemy could take any active steps and manage to act in an organized manner. Therefore, it was decided to inflict damage with incendiary mixture, discharges on this house. We set it on fire, and the enemy panicked and started running out chaotically," "Major" said.

After the house was destroyed, the closest shelter available to the Russians was a nearby basement. That's where they hid.

"When they ran in, I gave the command to the unit that was holding the defense to go to the lines, to take up the defense so that the exit from the basement was controlled by small arms. Our fighters did a good job. They followed all the commands. This is a great heroism. Because realizing that there are four of you and 12 enemies, approaching and practicing at close range with grenades and small arms is a huge risk to your life. I admire these guys. They are heroes. Especially given that they are from the Air Force, they are not infantrymen, they are not attack aircraft, who have been training, working and fighting for 10 or 5 years in this area," said the Air Force officer.

It is not known how the events would have unfolded if not for the decision of the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who engaged the enemy.

"Things got a little out of control when one of these desperate people ran directly to the basement and started throwing grenades into the basement. After another grenade hit the basement, the commander of that assault group was killed, he was from the Wagner unit, an ex-Wagner, he led them and, according to the prisoners, he objected to surrender. And then everything went according to plan," "Major" said.

The defenders let the Russians out of the basement one by one, ordering them to come out unarmed. After a short search, the prisoners were laid on the ground, where they waited for the other occupants to leave and then evacuate to a safe place.

"A reserve group from our company came up urgently, quickly, they worked everything out clearly, came to support us on time, helped the defenders of the position to take the prisoners, tied their hands, closed their eyes, and, accordingly, began the evacuation," the officer said.

He admitted that even though he was following the events remotely, he was afraid. He was afraid for his subordinates, who risked their lives and could have died at the slightest wrong command.

"I was afraid for the lives of our guys, I was very worried that I had made some wrong decision, given the wrong command. But, thank God, their cohesion, their clear actions, their courage led to the fact that everything was done correctly. We should also mention the crews of unmanned aerial vehicles who constantly kept the situation under control, who very accurately worked on the enemy until he ran into the last hiding place for them in this war, I hope. And everything turned out well," "Major" emphasized.

The officer added that the victory in that battle, which resulted in the exchange of 11 Russian prisoners, was all the more valuable because the Ukrainian soldiers had to face a well-trained enemy.

"It was a unit of the so-called 'hawks' of the 44th Army Corps, i.e. special forces. We all noticed their high-quality training when they were conducting assault operations. And we succeeded. Our guys are the best," he summarized.

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