At the War Museum, a meeting took place with soldiers and medics of the evacuation section of the medical company of the 101st Brigade for the Protection of the General Staff named after Colonel-General Henadii Vorobiov – Yevhen Bondar and Roman Libovych.
Yevhen Bondar is an experienced driver who met the full-scale invasion in the city of Kyiv. He immediately evacuated his wife and daughter to the suburbs of the capital, where, a few days later, they found themselves under occupation. Fortunately, the family managed to leave the occupied village and evacuate to western Ukraine. After deoccupation, Yevhen immediately began helping the civilian population of the settlements of Makariv and Borodianka, who had suffered from Russian occupation. The man delivered water and food, and also provided consultations on rebuilding damaged houses.
Roman Libovych turned to the military enlistment office as early as the spring of 2022, but he had to wait quite a long time for a response, since before the full-scale invasion he had no combat experience and had not completed compulsory military service. Despite his poor eyesight, Roman showed great determination to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His main motivation for mobilization was that almost everyone in his circle had gone to serve in the military. Roman’s wife and daughters supported his choice.
Since November 2022, Roman and Yevhen have been serving together in the 101st Separate Brigade as evacuation medics. During numerous rotations, they provided pre-medical aid to hundreds of our defenders, conducted evacuations of the sick and wounded from the battlefield, and accompanied servicemen who required treatment or rehabilitation.
During the conversation with the Museum’s researcher Olha Vorobei, the medics shared their memories and spoke about the specifics of their work as evacuation medics in the hottest spots of Ukraine. The warriors spoke extremely warmly about their brothers-in-arms. Roman considers all Ukrainian servicemen who share the same goal and idea to be brothers-in-arms; that is why, he asserts, it is necessary to unite and help one another.
For conscientious and selfless work, and for the successful completion of combat tasks, soldiers Roman Libovych and Yevhen Bondar have been awarded the breast badges of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “For Saved Life”.
At the end of the meeting, the warriors transferred personal items to the Museum that had helped them on the battlefield. From now on, these artifacts will tell the story in the museum’s exhibitions of the difficult work of evacuation medics on the front line.
The Museum is sincerely grateful to the warriors for their open communication and the artifacts they donated. Thank you to the defenders for their protection, and we admire their courage!
