Cheerful and funny person, reckless and brave man – this is what friends and acquaintances say about Serhii Harkusha, a war veteran from Inhulets Iron Ore. The man has experience as a combat scout and now helps his demobilised co-workers to re-adapt to civilian life. The story of the hero tells how he got to the frontline, how he learned to be invisible to the enemy, about the brotherhood of war, injuries, and guardian angels in heaven and on earth.
Over the past three years, the life of Serhii Harkusha has taken a turn that he could not have imagined before At the beginning of 2022, he worked as a foreman of pump operators at the ore-concentration plant of Inhulets Iron Ore. At that time, he had already had about nine years of experience at the enterprise. Before that, he had worked as a construction worker for a long time, having graduated as a painter and plasterer from a school in Ingulets. Although he was born in the north of Russia. His parents, both Ingulets residents, worked there and then came back. When he talks about this fact, he feels embarrassed. How could he have known as a boy that he would be fighting with those with whom he went to school.
Going to the front is a final decision
Serhii and his three comrades began to force their way into the military recruitment office the very next day after the declaration of full-scale war. However, there were so many people at the office that the military personnel were physically unable to accept and arm everyone.
The military commissar told us with regret: "Guys, we don't have enough weapons. I can give one of you an armor vest, a helmet to the other one, and a machine gun to the third one And you will fight as a as a whole." Serhii had to wait and continue working at the plant. And my mother felt relieved The point of no return came when the enemy shelled Ingulets with cluster shells. Two civilians were killed – a girl and a woman – my mother's friend who worked in a kindergarten. And then I saw on TV a story of the girls that are serving as operators of anti-aircraft guns, using self-propelled guns, and as medics... The decision was made I gave up my reserved occupation and went back to the military recruitment office. They took us to the "buying station". That's how we called the place where people were selected for different types of troops. I ended up in the Lviv region in Starychi. I had 500 hryvnias in my pocket, the amount which was not enough to buy a return ticket. I saw that first they selected drivers having B, C, and D categories, then they took the young people Then I saw a lieutenant colonel and went forward. We talked, and I assured him that I was ready to wear my boots 24/7 and run in an armor vest, and if not run, then crawl He smiled and wrote something down in my military ID card", recalls Serhii Harkusha.
Daily life of a scout
A new recruit Serhii was sent to a combat reconnaissance training centre. A month and a half of training turned the ore enrichment specialist into a real fighter with unique skills. In addition to general theoretical knowledge and practical mastery of various types of weapons, the guys were taught how to navigate in the forest at night by the stars, how to read maps, how to sneak up on people and set up ambushes, how to get water and food and, most importantly, how to be invisible.
The first combat sector for Serhii Harkusha was the area near Vodiane and the "road of life" in Donetsk region. There he was first injured in the right arm A drone spotted their group and dropped a grenade. One of his comrades was killed. When the guys were carrying his body out of the position, the drone dropped a second grenade and everyone got shrapnel wounds. They applied tourniquets to each other and tried to get to the evacuation zone. Suddenly, a tank started hitting them, right into the trench where they were. It became clear that the enemy had determined the location of the scouts' radio But they managed to reach the evacuation centre. After the hospital and rotation, Serhii ended up near Huliaipole.
"In the Zaporizhzhia sector, we performed a number of important tasks. We sat in secret places where the enemy does not see us, but we see everything and even hear and pass important information to our own comrades We also performed tasks at observation posts. They are less classified, but inconvenient for the enemy to take because our positions are located at the opposite, explains the veteran scout.
And then the group was transferred to Bakhmut. One day, they were returning from a combat mission and passed by the position of our soldiers. They intercepted information on the radio that this position was going to be stormed by Russians. There were only five guys there, and another three hundred injured men were waiting to be evacuated The four scouts decided to stay and fight alongside the foot troops. At the second hour of the battle, Serhii was injured in the right arm again I applied a tourniquet on it and took up arms. When we have evacuated the wounded, we decided to move to a safer place. This is when a large-calibre bullet severely injured the left arm. My wounded comrade helped me apply a tourniquet on it and crawled for help.
To be honest, at that moment I had already given up on life, put my helmet under my head, and waited to lose consciousness because I thought my comrade had applied the tourniquet poorly and I would bleed out But I did not lose consciousness. My guardian angel protected me, and I decided to make my way to my comrades. When I approached our guys with my last bit of strength, I shouted my call sign - "Funnyman". They recognized me and sent me to the medics in an armored vehicle," says Serhii.
Help from Superhumans, service in the territorial centre for recruitment, and return to Ingulets GZK
Serhii lost his left arm. A surgeon from Slaviansk confirmed that it was impossible to save it. Doctors removed a bullet from his right arm and patched it up. Then came a series of hospitals, treatment in Lviv and Truskavets, although this was not how Serhii had imagined his trip to the resort. There he met representatives of the Superhumans organisation, which provides prosthetics. He filled out an application and waited for the opportunity to have his prosthesis fitted. The warrior remembers his benefactors with great gratitude and tells of their incredibly caring attitude toward him.
After rehabilitation, the scout refused to be demobilised. He wanted to work as an instructor and share his combat experience. However, he was sent to continue his service in the Mykolaiv territorial centre for recruitment. He worked there for four months and decided to return to civilian life.
He was welcomed by his co-workers at Ingulets GZK. Due to a serious injury, he could no longer work at the plant, but he was offered the opportunity to strengthen the group that deals with military records Now the veteran helps people like himself to re-adapt to civilian life, to properly complete all the necessary documents and continue to live a full life.
"Serhii is very straightforward and cheerful," says Natalia Romanova, a military records specialist at InGZK. "Over a couple of months that we have been working together, I have already collected a whole list of jokes. He is very supportive. When things don't go well at work, he will always help and reassure us. And what is more, Serhii always brings us goodies and makes sure we always have something yummy for tea. And the guys who come back to us from the front-line trust him a lot. Many of them knew Serhii before the war. They speak their own language there, and quickly understand each other. He has a lot of experience; he is well-versed in the paperwork for combatants, disabled people, and veterans, and he helps his colleagues.
At home, Serhii has a reliable rear – his parents and his beloved wife With such a strong will to live and optimism, we are sure that fate will give the soldier many more happy years.
