“A moment before brave death …”
He was forced to dig a shallow grave in an unnamed forest amidst the shell-torn land, the chaos of scattered military ammunition, and traces of battle. At the last possible minute, he gathered his strength and said the most important thing that could replace his dying prayer and his cherished memories: about his home and family, about the wonderful things that happened in his past life. He said exactly what he could express at once. All the most important things at once. He said, “Glory to Ukraine!” After that, his body was torn apart by bullets from an assault rifle, and he ceased to be a living person. His soul left his body and flew to God. His mutilated body fell to the edge of the pit. The killers cursed him one last time.
Would those who were shooting have had the courage to die like this Ukrainian guy?
Why didn’t he beg for them not to kill him, why didn’t he shout “Glory to Russia!” or something else ordered by his guards? For example, there was a certain governor of the Russian oprichniks, Oleksii Basmanov. He was fined by Ivan the Terrible. He was fined by Ivan the Terrible. Oleksii Basmanov’s son Fiodor was offered to save his life if he agreed to cut his father’s throat, and he agreed. Ivan kept his promise: Fiodor was granted his life, but he was chained, sent to the north, thrown into jail, and died there.
Here is an example of the opposite behavior mode described by Lev Humiliov, “In the Battle of Korsun in 1648, the Poles had good German artillery – the cannons could easily stop the onslaught of the Cossack cavalry. And so, in order to “neutralize” the artillery, Khmelnytsky sent one of his loyal Cossacks to surrender to the Poles and testify that the Cossack attack was being prepared from the right flank. The Cossack surrendered and died under torture, repeating the false version and knowing the truth about Khmelnytsky’s plan. The Cossack cavalry struck the left flank of the Polish army, and while the deceived Poles were deploying their cannons, the victory was won.
Imagine what the intensity of passions was like if that Cossack-Hero not only sacrificed his very life but also maintained his willpower in cruel torment for several hours, preferring to buy the victory of his comrades-in-arms at the cost of his own suffering.”
Ukrainians are obviously no less passionate about the war they are fighting against russia now. Ukrainians hate russians! The remnants of traditional Soviet sympathy for russian “fellow countrymen” from the USSR, which developed in the relatively well-fed and peaceful era of late Brezhnev, have disappeared like childhood memories of fairy tales.
The irony of fate today is that the death of a Ukrainian soldier in a dirty camouflage uniform, on the edge of a humiliatingly shallow grave, without the usual human ritual of sending him off to the next world, accompanied only by the curses of his enemies, acquires the highest symbolic meaning. The soldier dies in terrible conditions but remains a proud and unbreakable defender of his Motherland. By his death, he despises the enemy’s claims to seize and appropriate his land, rule over his people and dictate the rules of life…
It is also ironic that the enemies of the Ukrainian made a stupid russian mistake: not fully understanding the significance of their actions, they filmed the execution, sending the scene of the shooting to the information space. Any normal person can see which side the sympathies of Ukrainians will be on. A simple soldier finds the courage to remain true to his ideals of honor and love for Ukraine a moment before his death. In one day, the video with the scene of the brutal execution and the courage shown by the Ukrainian soldier spread across the Internet, and leaders of Ukrainian public opinion, such as The President, ministers, leaders of political parties, well-known bloggers, journalists, writers, cultural celebrities, and many others… And all of them perceive this video in the same way – as evidence of the cruelty and meanness of russians (in general) and as a triumph of Ukrainian patriotism. An unknown death in a hastily dug grave turns out to be a stepping stone to gaining national love and sainthood!
The idea that has come up before is being confirmed once again: the support of the whole world, which is manifested in helping refugees, humanitarian supplies rushing to Ukraine, financial infusions, and the supply of modern weapons and ammunition, is very important, and without it, it is not certain that Ukrainians would have survived… But this is not what Ukrainian successes at the front are based on. The main thing is that Ukrainians do not want to live as slaves and fulfill someone else’s will. They are ready to sacrifice their lives for this decision – not to give up, not to give in, but to fight. Something tells me that in Ukraine there are so many soldiers like the shot and still unknown Hero. As the Ukrainian resistance leader of the 40s and 50s of the last century, Stepan Bandera, wrote, “The time will come when one will say, “Glory to Ukraine!” and millions will answer, “Glory to the Heroes!”
This moment has come!
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