Mykola Stetsenko, a former midfielder of Ingulets, Chayka and a number of other domestic clubs, who is now fighting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces against the Russian invaders, told his story.
Mykola Stetsenko- Mykola, how did it happen that you switched from football to the Armed Forces?
- On 20 June, I arrived in Odesa from Kyiv to sign a contract with Real Pharma. Representatives of the TCC approached me on the street and politely asked me to go with them to the military commissariat, and they wouldn't let me out. I passed the medical examination and was sent to training in two days. I didn't make it a kilometre to the stadium when they took me away.
- Did you try to resolve the issue somehow?
- Representatives of Real Pharma wanted to help me and convince the TCC that I would do more good playing football, especially since I hadn't even served. But Vyacheslav Kushnerov, the military commander of the Malynivka RTC, who was later caught taking bribes and fired a month later, set a fantastic condition.
- What was it?
- He said to buy four pick-up trucks and then I would be released. They cost more than $20,000. This amount was unaffordable for me and the club. I had a contract with Chayka in hand, but that didn't help either, as the club has no reserves. That's how I ended up in the service.
- Where were you sent from TCC?
- I spent five weeks in training in Vasylkiv, near Kyiv. Then I was assigned to the 36th Separate Marine Brigade. I stayed there until 15 November 2023, and then transferred to my friend's 66th separate artillery division, 406th brigade, where I serve to this day. I was very lucky not to be assigned to an assault group. It is much tougher there.
- What direction are you in?
- We were near Avdiivka, and now we are in the Zaporizhzhia sector, not far from Robotyno.
- What is the situation there, what have you seen?
- Nothing good, everything is broken, the villages are destroyed. We live in the fields, in dugouts, in shelters. There was no direct contact with the Russians, because the artillery is a little further away, about five kilometres from their positions. But when they try to storm it, we work on them. It works out quite well.
There are a lot of enemy drones in the Zaporizhzhia sector, so we have to be careful and change positions frequently. Sometimes, in clear weather, you look up at the sky and see more than ten drones flying there. It's good when it's foggy or raining - they don't launch them in such weather.
There was a case when the drones burned us down and they started f*cking with all the guns: "Grads, Uragans, etc. It was tough.
- You hadn't served before the mobilisation and had never held a weapon in your hands. How well were you taught in the training school?
- In the training school, everyone was trained in VOS 100, which is marksmanship. I wouldn't say that the training was perfect - it was somewhere on the average level: we ran and shot, but nothing special. I learnt how to control and aim artillery at the front line. Now I know how to aim, how to load the gun, and how to shoot. Everyone in the calculation must know two or three positions so that they can easily replace their comrades.
- What is your call sign?
- I didn't bother with the call sign. In training, one of my comrades said: "You're a footballer, right? So you'll be Gerard". I don't care, Gerard means Gerard. I probably reminded him of Barcelona's Pique(Laughs).
- To what extent do our military suffer from shell hunger?
- Let me say this, almost everything that is written is true. We are trying to save shells as much as possible and use them only for fire support of our assaults or suppression of enemy attacks. Nobody just shoots for no reason, like the orcs do. The Russians fuck up much more. It was especially noticeable in Avdiivka when they started to take it back slowly.
- What is the worst thing you have seen in the war?
- The scariest thing is when you see a "bird" above you. If an enemy drone spotted us and we didn't have time to change our position, then within two to four minutes the shelling starts. At this point, you need to jump into the dugout as soon as possible and hope that there will be no direct hit.
After a Uragan shot is fired, it arrives within a few seconds, so you need to act very quickly. Thank God, we managed to hide and there were no "bicentenary" in my brigade.
"It will be almost impossible to reach the borders of 1991. It could happen if Russia suffers a financial collapse and something happens to their gas and oil exports."
- What do you think about the end of the war, do we have a chance to win?
- There is a chance if we are given a lot of weapons, tanks, artillery and, most importantly, aircraft. I think aircraft should help turn the tide at the front. We also need shells. Last summer we had a lot of them and the guys were working well, but for the last two months we have had to save money.
It will be hard to win. The enemy has been digging in all this time. It will be almost impossible to reach the borders of 1991. This could happen if Russia suffers a financial collapse and something happens to their gas and oil exports.
- And to the borders on 24 February 2022?
- It is possible, but it is also difficult. For this, we need aviation. The Russians have built very serious fortifications in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and it will be very difficult to break through without air support. We also need trained attack aircraft.
How can you conduct a normal assault now if artillery shells are flying in your direction and planes are firing from above? We need to seize the initiative in the sky. A CAB (guided aerial bomb) is a terrible thing. It leaves a very deep crater.
- Are our people building fortified areas and defence lines?
- In the Zaporizhzhia direction, where I am, there are normal fortifications. But this should have been done after the start of the ATO/JFO, not after 24 February.
- Do famous footballers help your brigade with donations or volunteering?
- My brigade does not. We only get help from volunteers - friends of the guys who have been fighting for a long time.
"Mudryk, Zinchenko and our other legionnaires will be more useful with their donations for drones. So let them play and donate."
- You come from the now-occupied Alchevsk. What is happening there now?
- The city is located far from the demarcation line and it is relatively calm there now.
- Is there anything left of Ukraine there?
- Unfortunately, no. Back in 2015, Alchevsk switched to rubles, and now everything there is integrated into the Russian Federation.
- Can you remember how it all started in Alchevsk in 2014?
- We only heard about the battles for Debaltseve and Luhansk, but Alchevsk was taken quietly, there was no fighting for it. There were a few air raids on the outskirts, but there was no fighting in the city itself. It was simply surrendered.
- And what was the mood in Alchevsk at the time: more pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian?
- I cannot say for sure. Those who had the opportunity and money left for Ukraine, while others stayed.
- How did you leave?
- I left immediately, in 2014, because I realised that it would be for a long time. Until 2022, whenever possible, I went to Alchevsk to visit my family. Now people are going with the flow there - come what may. They cannot change anything.
- Do you believe you will return home to Ukrainian Alchevsk?
- It will be very difficult to do so. It is unlikely to happen in the next 5 years.
- Aren't you offended that you are at war, while our other players, such as Mudryk and Zinchenko, are playing abroad? Do you think this is fair?
- Mudryk, Zinchenko and our other legionnaires will be more useful with their donations for drones. This is very important. Without drones, it would be even more difficult for us. So let them play and donate.
- Okay, so we're not taking national team players, but do the rest of the Ukrainian players have to fight?
- This is a very difficult question because I am a footballer myself. Let me not answer it.
- Do you think you will return to football?
- I would really like to. I have 97 matches at the professional level, I would like to get to 100. But now I have only one task - to survive. God willing, we will win and this horror of war will be over.
Andrii Piskun
