Andrii "Lyudoid" Limontov, a soldier of the “Shaman” special unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in an exclusive interview with online.ua, tells stories from the frontlines, the secrets of scouts at the front, how to get into "Shaman" battalion, what to do with two machine guns at the same time and whose life he values more than his own.
We captured Russians without firing a single shot
I’m not allowed to say some things, but even military people think our job is very difficult or a "one-way ticket". But, as practice shows, I'm still here, I'm still alive.
The more daring the manoeuvre, the less the enemy expects it. There were situations when war prisoners were taken without a single shot being fired.
They didn't know and didn't expect that there could be anyone there but them. The enemy goes to his position unarmed, and the guys come up to him and say: "Hey, mate, you're captured!". And he says: "You're just kidding me". And this happened even with the enemy.
Being a machine gunner is a vocation
Being a machine gunner is not a choice, it is a vocation. In fact, even later, when I had the opportunity not to be a machine gunner, I still liked the machine gun. Because someone has to carry it anyway. Someone has to do it anyway.
And I realise that I have the skill, and I'm so used to it (my machine guns). Still, someone has to do it, and I'd rather save the guys' lives somewhere and let them buy me some chocolates or marmalades than such a story.
When a machine gun is firing, everyone is quiet in the room. It's cool.
Andrii "Lyudoid" Limontov
soldier of the “Shaman” special unit
The most important thing on a frontline
The main thing is not to be afraid and not to be stupid. If you hone your skills, you understand how and what. These training sessions give you a lot.
The main thing is not to panic, to do something, to watch, think and not to scream in hysterics, because everyone will pick up on this hysteria.
With every combat mission, with every stress, the point where you feel uncomfortable shifts all the time. The operations are not always easy. It can be very difficult both physically and mentally. And when you can withstand it and get over it, you get a new achievement, and you can go on.
Special Forces soldiers have different physiologies. They are often not like me in terms of height and so on.
They are more hardy, lean guys, of such a build that they can get through anything.
You know, I'm the exception to the rule, the one who will run out of breath after 10 minutes of active work. I'm joking, of course.
When we are at the training bases and we have regular training sessions, every morning starts with a weighted marching throw. A 60-kilometre march through the mountains with weapons.
That's when I realised that all the training in my entire life, all my sports activities were like “smoking a cigarette". That was hard. And then I realised that if you and I bet 500 hryvnias, I'll run to Zhytomyr in jeans like this.
What makes a smart commander
I'm very grateful that I joined the Shamanbat special unit. Me and the guys, when we came young, were trained very smoothly. I remember the period, when I was like a raw recruit with zeal, but the commander said: "No, you have to do it smoothly". After you were taken to some kind of a mission where you were shot at or ammo flew over you.
And a smart commander always looks and makes an assessment of each of his soldiers, who is taking it out the hardest, especially psychologically.
Because I believe that any person can be turned into a machine in terms of physical fitness and so on. If there are no major health problems.
But the main thing is how much a person can psychologically take out. And so I'm grateful that no matter how much I wanted to, I was always told: "Wait, wait, wait!".
Then they would work with me: "Yeah, let's have a machine gun, let's have this training". And then, over time, it started to tighten up and level off.
Not the way most people think nowadays: "If I enter the army now that's it, I'll be in some trenches the next day." It depends on how smoothly a person is involved.
Andrii "Lyudoid" Limontov
soldier of the “Shaman” special unit
It happens that a person doesn't withstand this whole thing, but he can be useful in some other positions. Nowadays, the UAV sector is very well developed, there are mortars, artillery...
Sometimes the probability of returning from the mission is not very high
Many people think, for example, that scouts are the kind of people who go in, walk around and leave.
There are operations where scouts are the first to enter. The probability of returning is not very high, because your forces are not there.
I'll tell you the truth: the last time I wore a bandage with tape was last year. And so it is in most operations. You don't wear it because you know that you are the only one there. There are situations when something goes wrong, and your unit gets into some kind of trouble, so to speak. And in order for them to get out, you have to take the fire on yourself.
For example, there are four or five of us, imitating an assault on a checkpoint. There is a video of me getting my jacket pierced by a machine gun. This is so that our guys can leave. Everything was planned. These are coordinated actions. But there are times when you need to be flexible.
And I [had] emotions when all the guys came back alive. Because it was such a difficult story, when the ammo is flying overhead, they shout into your radio: "What’s your situation?" — and I'm running around like a fool not knowing what to do.
Sometimes it happens that we get back into the car at the evacuation point, and the driver says, "Damn, Andriy, I'm so glad to see you," and I have a tear in my eye. I think: it's good that everyone is back. It was hard. I thought anything could happen.
Funny situations from the frontlines
I remember a funny situation where we had to walk a bit. And to get through some of the extreme positions, we needed a guide who would say on the radio that we were leaving and so on. And he had never gone that far in his service.
So we're going, forcing through some swamp, and he says: "Shit, can I make a video? I'll show my wife where I'm standing". We filmed him, he was so happy, he was knee-deep in the mud... What a cool kid.
Stories like this happen when people go above and beyond when they work with us. They are the coolest and happiest at that moment.
It's a common situation when you're walking, for example, it’s the last position, and you have to go five kilometres further. And they say: "..., guys!" And we say: "Okay!" And we go. And they watch and then are very surprised to see when we come back.
If you are destined to die, you will die
Sometimes you have to make a decision very quickly, especially when you are under fire somewhere. And the lives of the guys next to you and your own life depend on this decision. So it's all intuitive, and it's all about feelings. And the more knowledgeable a person is in a certain area, the more he or she will look for wrong things to avoid.
It's the same with fights. We had a fellow man, Ruslan. He came up to me and said: "I want to buy a console. We are never at home. Is it worth spending money on it or not?" I said: "Go ahead and buy it. It's a console, you'll play it". And he was worried about whether to buy it or not.
Unfortunately, he died, but I have this story of "to do or not to do"... You don't know what will happen tomorrow.
I think this feeling is a kind of life experience. Everyone has their own. And the more one goes through some difficult situations, really difficult ones, the more experience and wisdom one gains. When you have such feelings, you need to listen to them. In my case, it's like this. I don't know about other people.
But when there is some kind of operation and someone says, "There's a terrible thing going on…" I say: "Everything will be fine, everything will be great!"
I remember, there was a fight, and there were young guys in there, for whom it was almost their first combat outing. I came up to them and said: "It's okay, you're not going to die, everything is fine." And we are under shelling... It was fun. I had to support them. Because the more difficult some situations are, the more human wisdom you have, probably.
If you are destined to die, you will die. When someone gets shot next to you... Like we did on the boats: a fellow soldier's leg gets blown off. Well, that's it, he's alive, thank God, healthy. He now has a carbon fibre prosthesis. Maybe some higher power is doing something for you.
I was running with a machine gun like in a computer game
I remember we lined up in a column behind our armour. My fellow told me later: "Everyone is walking in a concentrated manner. I turn to Andriy, and there is a smile on his face! The happiest man!"
And I thought this way at that moment: "Finally! Finally! Finally, I'm going to shoot half my ammunition at a time and won’t have to carry it." I was running around like in a computer game there.
I take half a box and spill it out. I have to run to another street, so I run, and there are boxes of ammunition. I bring those cartridges here. But it was fun, of course. I actually shot quite well there.
I just think: all these months of training, these training ranges, all was endless... Everyone walks around with AR rifles, for example, or some other weapon. But Andriy walks with a machine gun, a PKM. I wish I had all these boxes on me [during training].
I think: finally, my time has come! And here are two more machine guns! Imagine, two machine guns! It's like a dream came true! If I could station two of them, I would have done it. But of course, it was something.
I came to the military recruitment center voluntarily
I've seen posts on social media about civilians who decide whether someone was appointed correctly or not. If people want to discuss something, they’d better ask themselves: "What have I done?"
Everyone should ask themselves: "What have I done to make things better?" In military terms, in material terms, in spiritual terms... In any way. "What have I done for this?" And many questions disappear by themselves.
And when people start thinking a lot, talking and spread some things... Everything you like or dislike is in your hands, and you can change it.
We have democracy, freedom of vote. Take it, do it. But if everyone is involved with both heart and head, and feels what they are doing, then I think everything will be fine.
According the drama with the military recruitment centres, I don't know, I went there voluntarily. I can also say that they didn't want to take me. They really didn't want me.
Andrii "Lyudoid" Limontov
soldier of the “Shaman” special unit
I said: "I'm not leaving here without a machine gun". Well, in short, they had to take me, such a bad guy.
In fact, using myself as an example, I can say that I was doing well before the war, I am the same as most young guys. I'm 30 years old, I try to do something for sport, to run around with a machine gun, and so on.
I'm not going to say how many millions of hryvnias I've donated. I do not consider myself a different person from others. I have the same skin, the same flesh, the same blood. I went to the army. Although I could have easily avoided it.
What will you tell your children after the war
Everyone has their own vision and sense of what they need in life. If you want to say something bad about someone, just think about what you did for society, for the war. What is your position?
I was always told as a child: "If you criticise, offer your own suggestions". If there is a constructive solution, it will be good if it is constructive.
It's better to take care of yourself, your family, go for a workout. And also, when everything is fine, everyone has children or will have them in future, and one day your child will ask you a question: "There were such times in the country. What did you, dad or mum, do then?”
Just think about what you were doing, what you were doing at that time, and what you can tell your children with a light heart? These are your children, they will model themselves on you.
What you are doing now will affect your, our, my future. So I would like to say: Less talk and more action. Thank you!
