He blew up a bridge to stop the Russians on the outskirts of Kyiv: the story of a Ukrainian paratrooper

Yevhenii, a Ukrainian paratrooper who had participated in peacekeeping missions and battles on various fronts, was tasked at the start of the full-scale invasion with blowing up a bridge to halt the advance of Russian troops toward Kyiv.

 

Yevhen began his service as a conscript in the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, now known as the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Polissya Brigade of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He later signed a contract and was assigned to the brigade’s 13th Separate Battalion.

In 2002–2003, 2007, and 2009, he participated in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo.

In 2011, he was transferred to the 95th Brigade to serve as a senior noncommissioned officer in the engineering and sapper company. With the start of the anti-terrorist operation, Yevhen became the chief sergeant of that company.

He also took part in a raid by the 95th Brigade under the command of then-Colonel (now Lieutenant General) Mykhailo Zabrodskyi.

“The raid was successful; there were casualties, but we accomplished our mission,” Yevhen recalls.

In September 2014, he sustained a shrapnel wound. After treatment and rehabilitation, he was transferred to the newly established 199th Airborne Training Center.

The Airborne Training School’s staff was near Kyiv when the full-scale invasion began. A group of about 15 paratroopers set out toward the capital.

Between Malyn and Ivankiv, a bridge had been mined. The soldiers’ mission was to prevent Russian forces from advancing toward Kyiv.

“I used to be a sapper, so my job was to blow up that bridge,” Yevhen says.

He waited for the Russian troops to approach and then blew up the bridge. The Russians did not break through at that point.

Later, the group returned to Zhytomyr, and a few days later, they were flown by helicopter to another sector.

From there, the soldiers moved to the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions to hold the line.

During one of the battles, the paratroopers destroyed an enemy armored personnel carrier, after which the enemy retreated. Later, the soldiers were relieved; they rested for a day and set off in another direction to carry out a similar mission.

In 2023, Yevheniy conducted training sessions with one of the Airborne Forces brigades. The soldiers practiced rappelling from a helicopter using a modular combat gear set (MCGS).

However, the combat mission for which they were preparing was never carried out.

Currently, the Airborne Training School accepts service members from various Airborne Forces brigades. Every month, new groups arrive at the training center to perform parachute jumps.

According to Yevhenii, these jumps have no combat application today, but they are important from a psychological standpoint. They help soldiers overcome their fears and believe in their own abilities.

“I did it, I’m a champ, I pushed past my limits and jumped,” is how Yevhen describes the feeling after the jump.

He is convinced that every soldier in the Airborne Assault Forces should go through this experience.

“To proudly bear the title of paratrooper,” the soldier explains.

The soldier’s story was shared on the page of the 199th Training Center of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Earlier, Russian propaganda began spreading a false story about a hired actor at the sites of shelling in Ukraine.

In addition, Russian propaganda has intensified its disinformation campaign surrounding the tragedy in Bucha, targeting a Western audience. In this way, the enemy is attempting to divert the international community’s attention from the escalating terror against Ukraine’s civilian population. 

FBI Director Kash Patel refuted media reports regarding his alleged visit to Russia on October 14, calling such publications fake news.