Destroyed two tanks and saved comrade-in-arms: story of 19-year-old National Guard soldier
Soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) Volodymyr Mahda, 19, has managed to destroy two Russian tanks in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Regardless of his tough service on the frontline, he still dreams of a military career: he even called the academy from the trenches to find out the requirements for admission.
The NGU told the press Volodymyr's story.
First battle
Volodymyr Mahda attended a military lyceum, which he chose because of his love for discipline.
"I also wanted to shoot all kinds of weapons, which I did, by the way, but unfortunately, during the war," the National Guardsman says.
Upon graduation, he enlisted in the National Guard.
He had just successfully qualified for a pankration (martial arts – ed.) competition before the full-scale invasion.
"We left to train at a military base near Kharkiv, stayed there for a month and then had to go to Sloviansk for the competition. But the war broke out," he recalls.
Given that Volodymyr was a conscript, he was offered to stay at the military base and do guard duty. However, Mahda refused and chose a different path.
"One day, a National Guard officer came to us recruiting people for a unit to be deployed in Luhansk Oblast. I accepted immediately and signed my military contract," says the soldier.
He saw his first battle in the town of Popasna of Luhansk Oblast in winter. He and his comrades were in a combat position when a convoy of Russian vehicles moved towards them. The soldiers fought back.
"When I saw the first tank, I fired my NLAW anti-tank system and disabled it. The second one targeted us but hit a tree nearby, and my mate suffered a shrapnel wound to the head," the National Guard member recalls.
Volodymyr Mahda shot down the second tank with an accurate shot, provided first aid to his comrade and dragged him to the evacuation site. He saved his friend's life. He noticed his own injuries only after the combat.
Afterwards, the National Guard soldier and his comrades defended Bakhmut for three months as well as evacuated the local population.
Later, Volodymyr Mahda had to come back to combat training due to the loss of personnel in his unit.
"Four months into combat, I became a crew commander, and, following an order, we moved to the village of Sosnivka, Kharkiv Oblast, which we later liberated from the invaders. However, there I was again wounded in the right zygomatic area (facial bone)," the soldier says.
I told my mum I was staying in a military unit...
The President of Ukraine decorated Volodymyr Mahda with the medal For Military Service to Ukraine. The guardsman also received a wristwatch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a book once signed by the deceased Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi.
When the young man is asked about the source of his strength on the battlefield at the age of 19, Volodymyr does not hesitate to answer that "posing myself no doubt, I just did everything I could."
"I just did everything I could, and it turned out that I could do everything: defend the state with weapons in my hands, be a commander, and enter the Academy to become an officer. Unless one realises that they cannot do something, everything will work out," adds Volodymyr Mahda.
And then the young man posted a photo on Instagram in front of a "wrecked" tank, and only then did his mother find out about it.
"And then, of course, she was very nervous, although I tried not to make her feel that way. But now everything is fine, so I think she feels a bit calmer about it," says the National Guard soldier.
I called the academy's admission office from the foxhole
Volodymyr Mahda recalls calling the admissions office of the National Guard Academy of Ukraine from the foxhole, at which he is now a successful student of the Humanities Faculty. He was trying to find out how to prepare his application documents and how to submit them correctly.
"I sent it through the new post office, and a week later, I received a phone call informing me that I could come to take exams and undergo initial military training," the soldier says.
To apply his knowledge effectively, the young man decided to study to become an officer. He studied German and English since childhood, so he entered the Humanities Faculty.
"When I was a crew commander of a BTR-4 [armoured personnel carrier – ed.], I had 30-year-old men under my command. That's when I realised that no matter how old you are, the main thing is how you set the task, and the success of its implementation depends on it," added Mahda.
The young man dreams of becoming an officer. He wants to be forward-thinking, look for an individual approach to each fighter and motivate the personnel by his own example.
"I have a tattoo on my arm: a reindeer, a Scandinavian sign. It means strength, spirituality and invincibility. I consider it my talisman and strive to live up to these values now and in the future," says the National Guard soldier.
Previously: We told you the story of the NGU’s man with the alias of Gulliver, who is used to being the tallest among his comrades-in-arms, and chose his nom de guerre not just because of his height; for him, the war is like the novel Gulliver's Travels, as he is surrounded by Lilliputians.
Read also: "His worst nightmare came true": the story of a soldier who made it out of a burning tank
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