New Delhi: A Ukrainian soldier blew up the bridge that connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine to stop Russian tanks from invading his country, sacrificing his own life in the process. Marine battalion engineer Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych was deployed to the Henichesk bridge in the southern province of Kherson when Russian tanks invaded, as per the Ukrainian military.
The army decided that the only way to block the Russian tanks would be to blow up the bridge and, accordingly, Volodymyrovych volunteered to do the needful, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement. However, he soon realised he would not be able to get back to safety and died in the blast. His act of bravery forced the Russian forces to take a longer route, thereby giving the Ukrainian military more time to respond, India Today reported.
“On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people give away to the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the hardest places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean intersection, where one of the first enemies met a separate marine battalion. In order to stop the promotion of the tank column, a decision was made to overthrow the Geniche Car Bridge,” the Ukrainian military wrote in a statement.
The statement added, “The engineer of a separate battalion sailor Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich was called to perform this task. The bridge was replaced, but he didn’t have time to get out of there There was an explosion right away. Our brother was killed. His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense. We will fight as long as we live! And as long as we are alive we will fight!”
The soldier, Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich, will be given a state award posthumously for his bravery.
