“The entire alley was covered with the bodies of our guys,” says the father of one of the fallen defenders of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade. Soldiers were lined up in a frontline village in the Zaporizhzhia region to celebrate the Day of Missile Forces and Artillery. Russians launched a missile attack on a group of Ukrainian soldiers. According to official information, 19 defenders were killed, including 34-year-old Andriy Slipets from Lviv.

The Slidstvo.Info journalists talked to the father of the deceased soldier, Ihor Slipets, who also serves in the 128th Brigade. 

ANDRIY SAID GOODBYE TO THE WAR

Before the start of the full-scale invasion, Andriy Slipets took part in the ATO as part of the 2nd Battalion of the 128th Brigade. He was an infantryman during the heavy fighting for Debaltseve, Donetsk region, and managed to escape from the encirclement.

Andriy Slipets

“Andriy said goodbye to his life twice there, and after that he decided to live a civilian life,” says his father Ihor. 

The man recalls that on the morning of 24 February 2022, Andriy was already packed and sitting outside his parents’ house to go to the military enlistment office.

Andriy Slipets with his father Ihor

“‘Andriy was sitting outside my house, waiting. Together we went to the Lviv military enlistment office to enlist in the army and defend the country. The queue was still very long. We enlisted in the 128th Brigade, and not many people went there. For Andriy, it was a familiar brigade, so the choice was obvious,” says Ihor.

Ihor Slipets is 59 years old, yet he stood up to defend his homeland with his son. They were together in all combat areas. The brigade held defence in the area of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region, and near Bakhmut in Donetsk region. Now they have returned to Zaporizhzhia. 

On the morning of 3 November, Andriy had to be at his position.

Andriy Slipets with his father Ihor

“PETROVYCH, ANDRIY “200”. STAY STRONG”

On 3 November, at 10 am, Ihor Slipets was just returning from a combat mission. His son told him on the phone that he had fried meatballs, made sandwiches and was ready to go on a mission. At the time, the man did not know that this was their last conversation. Andriy was “turned around” by someone from the management halfway through the job so that he could attend the award ceremony, his father recalls.

“Of course, I found out about the attack in the village where Andriy was being awarded. My comrades-in-arms, who arrived at the scene immediately, were afraid to tell me. My friend, who was home on holiday, called and said: “Petrovych, Andriy is 200. Stay strong,” says Ihor.

Ihor’s brothers said that Andriy was killed by a piece of shrapnel that hit him in the head.

“I did not see Andriy. His comrades told me that his body survived, only a piece of shrapnel hit his helmet, which is why he died instantly. The whole alley was covered with the bodies of our guys. It was terrible,” Ihor recalls.

The man does not know who to ask for details, because everyone he could turn to was either killed or in serious condition in hospital. Volodymyr Voznyi, the former head of the Khmelnytsky Regional Territorial Centre for Recruitment and Social Support, is among the dead. Slidstvo.Info journalists learned from their own sources that Voznyi was the deputy commander of the logistics brigade in the 128th Brigade.

“The youngest guy who died was 21 years old, he was sitting next to him in the car. Andriy Tarasenko, an artillery commander, died with my son. And my son was just engaged in the business of hitting the Muscovites with rockets. The enemy attacked our country, and we have to defend it,” adds Ihor Slipets. 

A few days before his son’s award, Ihor Slipets also received a service award – the Golden Cross. He says that at the time, they were awarded in small groups, away from the contact line. 

THE EXPLOSION WAS SUDDEN AND POWERFUL

Slidstvo.Info journalists managed to find out the details of the morning attack on the group of Ukrainian soldiers of the 128th Brigade. According to personal sources, the brigade commander Lysiuk arrived late to the place of awarding the soldiers. The Ukrainian defenders were to be presented with the Silver Edelweiss medals (an infantryman’s award established by the 128th Brigade) and berets. 

The artillerymen did not have time to receive their awards. The explosion occurred at the beginning of the ceremony. For the first time, awards were presented in the frontline and in the open. 

Previously, such events were held in frontline towns in deep concrete shelters. Soldiers are usually informed about the awards at the Main Department of Moral and Psychological Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

The commander of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade of the Transcarpathian region, Dmytro Lysiuk, when asked by journalists who initiated the award, replied: “this is information with limited access”. On 6 November, President Zelenskyy said in his evening address that the commander of the 128th Brigade, Lysiuk, had been suspended from his post for the duration of the investigation.

The State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation into the negligent attitude of a military official to his service (Article 425(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

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war in Ukraine, russian agresion