"We are destroying the under-empire!" The historian who stood up for Ukraine shared what he saw at the front. Photo.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many people went to defend their country - from professional soldiers to people who had only heard about the war. Thus, a former historian Taras with the call sign "Gordiy" became a soldier of the 5th Slobozhanska Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

This was reported by the Information and Communication Department of the Eastern NGU. The defender of Ukraine described his frontline routine in detail and told how he was "destroying the under-empire".

"Gordiy because my grandfather's name was Gordiy, and he returned from the frontlines of World War II almost unscathed. It's a superstition, but it works," Taras explained the origin of his call sign.

According to the military man himself, he is a historian by training. In the 90s, Taras wanted to be either an economist or an athlete.

"My history studies didn't work out after graduation, although I know it better now than when I first graduated. It was difficult to support myself and my family with my profession, so I worked at various jobs, the last one was as a shop foreman in a large printing house," Taras recalls and lights a cigarette, hiding the flame with his palms, as everyone who was on the front line does...

The soldier said he had always considered Russia an enemy because he knows history and remembers all the horrific examples of Russian crimes.

"I knew there would be an invasion. Since my youth, I have been involved in nationalist circles, and I have repeatedly attended training sessions. Since October 2022, we have been training, preparing to carry out sabotage tasks behind enemy lines." "Unexpectedly for us (nationalist circles - Ed.), Kharkiv was not surrendered, the patriots defended the city, and the enemy was driven back. All my brothers have been fighting on the front line in different units since then, but none of ours stayed in the rear," says Taras.

On February 24, Taras "Gordiy" immediately decided to go to war.

"I put on my armour, unloaded and went to the agreed assembly point. We were given weapons and went to the position to wait for the enemy to break through into the city. But fortunately, it did not happen, and the next day we were offered to become part of the 5th Slobozhanska Brigade of the National Guard. And it was off and running," he said.

The soldier added that he had the most pleasant emotions when he saw Ukrainian people in the occupied territories who were happy to meet the defenders.

"How civilians greeted us in the de-occupied villages and towns! Tears of happiness, gratitude, we even cried with them. We were surprised by the complete absence of women and girls, they were carefully hidden, most of them came out of their houses for the first time only when we had already entered. Well, you know how the Russians treated women," he explained.

Taras also spoke about his personal plans for the postwar period.

"I do not plan to return to history as a science. We are now engaged in practical history across the country, destroying the under-empire. Most likely, I will not be able to socialise. I can no longer imagine myself without the army. I will try my hand at some private military company, not a Russian one, of course. There has always been a demand for Ukrainian soldiers, just think of the Cossacks, and now it has become even higher. Because Ukrainians know how to fight," the defender said.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, a soldier named Ruslan, who lost his leg during the shelling of Kharkiv last year, decided to return to service after rehabilitation. The defender served in the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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