From a young age, Ihor Ryzhakov chose to defend his homeland. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he was at the headquarters in Chasiv Yar and served as the head of the armored service. In the interview for Truthful Reporting, he talks about the readiness of the Ukrainian army for a full-scale invasion, the help of volunteers, military life, and psychological difficulties.
When the full-scale invasion broke out, I was at the headquarters. There we worked on the preparation of equipment. Kramatorsk was our main location, but just a few days before the start of the active phase, I was sent to Chasiv Yar (where the group’s headquarters was located) to perform certain functional tasks. I stayed there until the beginning of July last year.
Our service is part of a structure called the Logistics Force Command. We observed and participated in the management of logistics processes. It was a job related to the supply system, the repair system, collecting information, and coordinating the actions of some repair bodies. There were all sorts of things, but we did not have to launch any attacks.
From December on, we spent most of our time inspecting our brigades, especially since some of them came in only in November and December because they were rotating. We not only checked the condition of equipment, positions, and deployment of troops but also talked to people. This happened at the level of commanding officers and soldiers, usually from tank units. Therefore, when the active phase began, I exchanged thoughts with my friends, my neighbors, and other civilians who were in Kyiv at the time. They were all processing these events in their own way. Everyone was scared and confused, and I could not somehow suggest what they should do in the given situation. But I told them all unequivocally that the level of training of the brigades in the JFO area was fully consistent with their readiness to respond to the enemy’s aggression, that they were highly professional people, that their equipment was mostly in good condition, and that they had enough ammunition. And that all these units are ready to meet the enemy.
In our direction, especially during the early phase, when the enemy was more engaged in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Sumy, there were no significant retreats. Of course, we left some of our positions. We fought back some of them. Our losses were small compared to the total number of equipment and the escalation of hostilities that was taking place. Therefore, my assumptions that people would meet the enemy with dignity were fully justified.
Almost everyone proved to be quite resilient. I am talking not only about the soldiers who fight and fulfill the tasks, but also about the command and control system, artillery, and the use of material resources. All of this worked well. This suggests that all the brigades that were already formed and received combat training in 2014, 2015, and 2016 understood the mission they were facing in an exemplary manner.
At the early stage, we had enough of everything. As the fighting progressed, there were losses. In addition, equipment was out of service for technical reasons, so after a while, we began to experience a shortage not only of the equipment itself but also of spare parts. A lot of engines were out of order. Therefore, we lacked engines and some spare parts, which were already in short supply before the start of the active phase. This was primarily due to the fact that in order to increase the number of armored vehicles, T-72 and T-80 tanks were lifted from the stocks, and before that, no special stocks of military equipment were formed for them. In addition, most of the spare parts were produced in russia. Therefore, we experienced a shortage in certain parameters. Oddly enough, we were able to meet our needs only at the expense of trophy equipment.
Volunteers have always helped. When we talk about volunteers, it is not necessarily just food and warm clothes. In my area of expertise, I was interested in the technical side of the issue, because, in addition to the fact that soldiers need to eat and drink, they need certain material resources to repair their equipment. That’s why they helped with spare parts and tools, as well.
I remember the story of spark plugs for the carburetor for the engine, which were in short supply, so the prices went up significantly. The volunteers, who interacted with me, helped bring them from Poland and provided a 3-month supply. The help was quite substantial in many cases. It is difficult to estimate it. Also, when the terrorist defense brigades began to appear, volunteers were almost always involved in the equipment for the repair units.
We should not forget that a large number of volunteers who’ve been helping the army are now in the army themselves. The number of people in the army has increased significantly, and the level of tension has risen. The most motivated people who want to fight the enemy have joined the army. And this is exactly the category that was engaged in volunteering. This does not mean that volunteer assistance has decreased. It’s just that the number of brigades formed has become much larger. Any war means losses that are present everywhere. People have not stopped helping, but the amount of assistance needed has expanded significantly.
We have also started to be more specific in our approach to aid. Not just general supplies, such as the all-terrain vehicles we used to buy before. Now it’s not just vehicles, but vehicles that are being customized to perform certain combat missions. Specific training is already underway. The emphasis in this regard has changed. Volunteers are no longer just bringing something to the front but have started to implement their own technical developments, working in a targeted way and more specifically on the issues that exist in the units. There is a better understanding of what is needed.
All of our big bosses repeat the same thought, which is absolutely true: “This is all well and good, but to defeat such an enemy, you need much more.” Every time we talk about russian spending, it can be correlated with ours. If russia spends a billion dollars a day on war, how much do we spend? Even if it is three times less, it is still a massive amount. So what we have is good, but we need more. When a soldier launches an attack, he wants to understand that he has not only a bulletproof vest, a good helmet, a supply of ammunition, and even a hand grenade launcher. He wants support from an infantry fighting vehicle, a tank nearby, an artillery battery a little further away, and all the agencies that supply ammunition, bullets, shells, and fuel, which is needed in large quantities. We need support from aviation, radio stations, and night vision devices.
Most of the things we need were not produced in Ukraine at all, or not in the required volume, so the main assistance coming from international partners is primarily means of destruction, equipment, ammunition, and spare parts. And we need a lot of this stuff. And we are getting a lot of it. But it’s all running out quickly. It takes a huge amount of money to launch one Patriot missile. To supply one battery for a month, we need a hundred missiles. This is a lot of material resources. That’s why when we talk about how much our international partners give us, it’s a lot. But we need to not just break russia, we need to do it quickly, with one powerful and strong blow to push them back to the borders. To prepare a powerful impulse strike, you need a lot of everything, at once and in a specific place.
There are a lot of women in this war. Even before the active phase, there were many women in the headquarters of almost any brigade. The areas in which they are mostly involved in the army are medicine, communications, and office work. These are the main areas in which women were present. Usually, this is staff work.
I have not yet seen women in technical units, but there are women among snipers. Sometimes women are serving in combat units, including tank units. There are not so many of them in the units that launch attacks, but they are serving there as well. It is necessary to understand that in addition to the physical exertion that occurs in war, the life of men and women is also different. And it is difficult to provide for these two separate areas.
In a trench, soldiers struggle with the fact that they are damp, cold, and not very full. In addition, occasionally something shines over his head and something flies. They’re wet and dirty, and almost always want to sleep, because people get tired. And they have to stay in this environment for a day, a week, a month.
Often bottled water is a challenge because the first thing they bring is ammunition, fuel, and food. So you can’t expect to get countless bottled water.
Problems begin on the contact line. When you light a stove it starts smoking and gives your location to the enemy, as it is clearly visible through a thermal device. That is, you mark the target for enemy artillery. So the question is how to manage to cook some food and keep warm. We have enough food, but it’s the cooking, the utensils, and the place to store it in the summer that are a challenge.
I was in conditions that may seem quite acceptable at first glance. But it all felt like the movie Groundhog Day: you don’t go outside, there is an electric light around you that you turn on and off, you start to get confused about the days, and day and night are determined only by the clock. You are in a weak state, like a fly in honey. Everything seems normal and comfortable, but you can’t get out. And when you are in this situation day in and day out, everything depends on the team and on you. You complete certain tasks. And what more? You make the same spreadsheet every day, call the same people, and perform the same functions. In general, we weren’t under attack. Sometimes we were attacked, but the condition of our bunker was quite good, it was no big deal. The level of security is quite high. But everyone has a different level of anxiety. That’s why you have to find ways to overcome it yourself. This is one of the problems you face there. You have to entertain yourself somehow, and the Internet also helps with this. You can watch a movie or read something interesting, find out some news, talk to your friends, your wife, and daughter. It helped, and the level of anxiety went down a bit.
The country lives when it works. It maintains the level of functioning of the state, and the level of production. And not only military production. Because something has to be done to live, and then it has to be sent to the army, and so on. That’s why people have to work. It is important to understand the reason for all the difficulties and restrictions that exist. It is important to remember that all this must be endured, tolerated, and overcome. And the main condition is not to create panic. The panic that existed in ’14 and ’15, the panic that was present in social media at that time. You need to do your job, contribute to the formation of this state, help the military as much as you can, and keep your spirit of resistance. And most importantly, believe in the victory and in the people who are forging this victory. After all, it is not only the people in the trenches who are forging it but also those in the headquarters and administrations, as every Ukrainian does.
