An illegally mobilized single father of three children from the “DPR” is sent to storm. He was caught and now the wounded man is being sent on a mission again.
Oleg Makarikhin, 45, from Novoazovsk (Donetsk region), was taken right off the street and mobilized in 2022. “I did not do military service, I was not conscripted, I did not take the oath, I did not sign the contract. They gave me a machine gun in my hands, but I don’t know what it is at all.” To his pleas that at that time he had three minor daughters and a paralyzed father, the military police officers replied that “everything will be solved.”
Oleg’s wife died in 2021 from covid, and his mother died a little later from same illness. When Oleg was taken to the war, the daughters had to stay with their mother-in-law, because the man’s paralyzed father would not be able to look after them.
During this time, Oleg became deserter twice. The first time was in August 2022, when he was informed of his father’s death. Then the man left for the funeral and never returned. “I just left, worked, helped my children. I was not drawn to this war,” he told ASTRA.
Exactly one year later — on August 1, 2023 — he was caught, taken to the commandant’s office and brought to the pit at unit 41680 in Komsomolsk.
“There were 8 people from, also deserters. In the basement, where there is a sewer, 3 rooms were made. There was the main one who looked after the pit, Vanya from Komsomolsk. In the evening at 8 sharp he closed everything and opened it in the morning. The dogs lived there too — at least they were friendly. We were there with the dogs. “Buyers” (commanders) came, they chose people who were more or less combat-ready, who could carry something. 5 people were chosen from us, loaded into the SUVs and sent to the location of 1 MRB of 3 companies,” says Oleg.
While in the position, he came to trust the commanders — “Greek” and “Mexico” — “and when the field tasks piled up, I went back to deserting. Then I wandered for six months again. They tracked me down at home, found me, caught me, broke my ribs.”
Oleg was taken back to the “pit” — this time to a pigsty equipped for a camp in the Komsomolsky district.
“There are buildings, towers, wire. There were 100 people. The commanders of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd MRB, company commanders, came and chose people. They loaded them into the car and took them away. The same thing happens in the reserve medical units. The 1st reserve is Bogdanovka, the 2nd is Makeyevka. After the hospital, they [the military] are brought to the reserve unit. If a “buyer” arrives, then whether he is already fit, whether he has passed the VVC, it makes no difference. They poke, look and load.”
Oleg was taken from there by his commander, the “Greek”. After the previous escape, he lost all gained trust.
As a result, the man was sent on a combat mission near Gorlovka.
“Everyone was taken, even with broken legs, who did not pass the VVC, with fractured bones, with tuberculosis. I also have a spinal hernia. I can’t stand for long. I provided the pictures. I was told that I was fit because I had arms and legs. As a result, I was wounded in the arm and in the side. They say, “It’s okay.” And with broken bones, they want to send me back in 3-4 days. And they threaten to reset it,” he says.
Now the man is without documents, passport and money somewhere in the area of Gorlovka.
“They are afraid to send me to the hospital because I will run away from there. I would run away, live in a manhole and help my children. I want at least someone to hear and understand. I want to live peacefully, appreciate my family and my future. I don’t want to shoot, I’m a peaceful person. The war is not mine, let them take me to a madhouse, maybe I will find a common language with fools, my psyche is already shaken from despair. I am a single father, I have lost my father, mother, and there are no relatives. My mother—in-law is a pensioner. If something happens to her, I don’t want my children to be raised in an orphanage.”
