From the trenches to supporting veterans. A National Guardsman from Rivne with the call sign Archie spoke about his combat path (VIDEO)

Before the full-scale war he worked in Rivne’s municipal guard, and later joined the National Guard of Ukraine. During his service Artur went from rifleman to platoon commander and carried out combat missions in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions. During his first combat rotation he was seriously wounded, underwent treatment and returned to service. Today Junior Sergeant Archie, as he is known by his call sign, is mastering a new field of work, veterans’ policy, in order to help his brothers-in-arms adapt to civilian life.

Video: YouTube

Before going to the front line, Artur trained for combat coordination together with Rivne guardsmen. In April 2024 a film crew from the Inter TV channel captured him storming trenches during an exercise. At the time the serviceman spoke about the need to clear positions and gain a foothold in them. Later he had to do all of this in real combat conditions.

During one of the rotations, Archie’s unit held the defence in the Kostiantynivka direction. The guardsmen managed to hold their positions on the front line of defence and prevent the enemy from advancing.

“As a platoon commander, I took up positions at the command post, that is, I directed my guys. Mostly these were small-arms fights. The enemy infiltrated, came in, including through our positions and straight onto our positions. The guys destroyed them with small arms and mines”, Artur says.

Besides taking part directly in combat, the commander was responsible for his subordinates. Some servicemen stayed in their positions for more than a hundred days. Artur kept in constant contact with them, coordinated their actions and tried to maintain morale.

“I had to find the right words, to set everyone in the mindset that everything would be fine. And, in parallel with all that, to run the battle online. I worried about each of them as if about myself”, the guardsman recalls.

Before that, Artur had already carried out combat missions in the Pokrovsk direction. It was during that rotation that he suffered a serious injury to his left arm. Ahead lay surgery and four months of treatment.

“Now I have a plate in the joint there, the arm works a little differently than it should, but, in principle, it does not interfere with the main combat tasks. I am fit and ready to fight. Everything is fine”, the serviceman says.

The war became a shared cause for Artur’s whole family. His father voluntarily joined the defence of Ukraine in the first days of the full-scale invasion. At first he insisted that his son stay at home and help the family. But later Artur also joined the ranks of the National Guard. One day father and son happened to meet on the roads of Donetsk region. Both were carrying out tasks in neighbouring directions.

“I was coming back from my task. I knew he drove a minibus, and I knew that minibus by sight. And we simply crossed paths on the road. We met, smoked a cigarette, talked. We even cried”, Artur shares.

The guardsman recently returned from the front to Rivne. He now works with veterans. For him this is a new challenge and a chance to support those who return to peaceful life after the front.

“I want every veteran to be proud, with a wide-open chest, of being a veteran”, Artur stresses.

Based on materials from the Inter TV channel

Source: National Guard of Ukraine (ngu.gov.ua), https://ngu.gov.ua/vid-okopiv-do-pidtrymky-veteraniv-rivnenskyj-gvardiyecz-na-pozyvnyj-archi-rozpoviv-pro-svij-bojovyj-shlyah-video/