Vitaliy “Khyrurg (Surgeon)” Kharchuk
Azov
Tough battles on both banks of the Kalmius continued. The Russians were breaking through to the seaport and Azovstal works.
Tanks regularly came from the narrows by the highway, near the Mariupol stele, and fired at the nine-story buildings on Flotska Street. In early April, the orcs already held those buildings. We went to clear them out, and it turned out that they were conscripts from DPR. Some had helmets, some body armor, but no one was fully equipped. Three tried to run away but we killed one of them. We took his rifle, which was without a firing pin... Later, the enemy brought their larger forces, and we simply could not clear them out.
photo by Azov
In the second half of March, between the stele at the entrance to Mariupol and the Silpo supermarket, we destroyed five or six tanks, five or six BTR APCs, and one infantry KamAZ. At some point, the enemy stopped sending armored vehicles there. Opposite Azovintex, there was a small building we called the “forester's house." Next to it, all the destroyed vehicles were parked. The enemy set up their positions behind it. We left our positions to conduct raids against those behind the forester's house. They then were firing at the 9-story buildings occupied by their own forces. The latter were firing back in turn.
Russian equipment destroyed around Azovintex
photo by MAXAR
video by Azov
On March 15-17, a group of personell from the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center were ordered to leave Mariupol, however, two of them, who were in our police department, remained. Serhiy “Volchonok (Wolfing)” Ivanyushchenko and Denys “Denchyk” Stuzhuk joined our group. Our first joint operation was transporting weapons that remained after the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center had left. We took our BTR-80 APC and the medical Humvee and started loading them. There was even a 60-mm mortar. Of course, we took as many small arms as possible, particularly the Vulcan rifles. Volchok was driving that APC as he was the only one with relevant experience. We managed to deliver the load across the whole city to the port. When the fighting in the port began, Volchok distanced a bit from everyone. Moreover, he had poor eyesight, so I tried not to bother him often. However, in the port fighting, he was very useful, as his UAV corrected our actions and monitored the movements of the enemy's infantry and tanks.
photo by 73 Naval Special Operations Center
In the port, we were in a field bunker, and the communication there was poor. Moreover, we often had to talk without extra witnesses, and the field bunker was quite crowded. People were coming back from their positions there. Denchyk was dealing with many issues: radio, generator, and communications. Once I asked him to arrange a communication point in the neighboring building, where there were some offices on the second floor. I could observe the port from there, and the communication with “eye contact” was way better: we sent two snipers with good optics to watch ships and helicopters approaching. In general, it was a fairly convenient position, where I could talk safely. For three days I was asking him to arrange a communication point in that place. Denys answered “OK, I'll do that” but did nothing. I got mad.
– Den, what the hell?!
– I'm tired of burying my commanders. I won't do that.
At the end of March, a missile hit the building.
photo by the Donetsk Oblast Patrol Police
On April 2, our group had an operation in the Moryakiv residential suburbs. While hunting a Russian tank, one of the fighters screwed up, the enemy approached us suddenly, and I was wounded. It was Denchyk who got me out of there. Exactly a month later, he would die during a mortar attack on Azovstal works.
Battle in the Moryakiv residential suburbs, video from open sources
The enemy regularly shelled our field bunker, so it was clear that someone was watching us. As soon as there was some activity near the entrance, the enemy opened fire. We solved the problem: at night, we started to monitor the surrounding hills using a thermal viewer. Finally, we found the person we'd been looking for. He was only a hundred meters away, so Denchyk easily eliminated him with an AR-15 rifle.
photo by the Donetsk Oblast Patrol Police
On April 1-2, near the intersection of Tahanrozka and Trudova streets, Azov fighters burned a tank with NLAW, and when repelling the attack at the intersection of Stanislavskoho and Surikov streets, they used an RPG grenade launcher to burn an IFV supporting an enemy attack near the church. The video proves that the infantry was also killed.
video by Azov
