From edelweiss on the rocks to the chevron of mountain infantry: a soldier of the 128th brigade with the call sign "Chakhlyk" about war and home (PHOTOS).

When the full-scale war began, the guy was 19 years old and worked in the Czech Republic, but seeing the horror that was happening, the guy returned to Ukraine and went to defend it.

At the age of 22, Stepan, call sign Chakhlyk, a soldier of the mortar battery of the mountain assault battalion of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade, has been defending Ukraine for three years. Originally from the high-altitude Hutsul village of Bohdan in the Rakhiv region, in Transcarpathia, he has been accustomed since childhood to the steep Carpathian slopes and edelweiss, which he now wears on the chevron of his brigade. His story is a path from youthful courage to the conscious choice of a warrior who did not hesitate to return from abroad to defend his native land.

Volunteer from the first days

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, Stepan and two fellow countrymen worked in the Czech Republic. The news about civilians killed by the Russians — women and children — did not leave indifferent. "The Czech news showed the horrors of the war, and I couldn't calmly look at it. My friends are the same," Stepan recalls. The decision was quick and unanimous: "Well, are you going?" — "Yes." "But we don't have to sit at home, but we are going to the Armed Forces of Ukraine." "Of course."

On March 1, Stepan and his friends returned to Ukraine, and the next day, together with two other acquaintances from their native village, they went to the military registration and enlistment office. On March 3, the guys arrived in Mukachevo, where their brigade was based, and four days later they found themselves in the war zone in Zaporizhzhia.

At "zero": fear, survival and experience

Stepan spent the first months of the war in a mountain assault company on the front line.

"It was scary for a week or two," he admits. "The Russians were standing a kilometer and a half away, we saw them through binoculars and a thermal imager. We were fired upon by their infantry fighting vehicles, from time to time helicopters flew in, machine gun bursts flew in — everything was like in a blockbuster." One day, coming out of the trench to stretch his legs, Stepan heard several bullets whistling near his ear. "I haven't done that again," he adds with a smile.
There were also really dangerous moments. During the shelling from a 120-mm mortar, mines fell very close, but bags of frozen earth saved the position from shrapnel. "Now, when I remember those moments, sometimes I wonder how we survived then," says Stepan.

From infantry to mortars: the universal soldier

On the front line, Stepan received a serious knee injury, after which he underwent treatment and rehabilitation. Returning to the ranks, he joined the mortar battery of his battalion.

"I can work with various mortars — the 82nd, 120th, American and Ukrainian, if necessary, I get behind the wheel and "fly" on a drone — in a word, a universal soldier," he says. During the three years of the war, Stepan learned a lot, which, according to him, "may not be suitable in civilian life, but he definitely gained intelligence."

Losses that are not forgotten

War is not without pain. Among the dead soldiers of the 128th brigade are Stepan's compatriots.

"Roma Hrapeniuk was the first to die from our village during the assaults in the Kherson region at the end of the summer of 2022. It was a shock for us... Then Roman Sapozhnyk, Petro Nikolaychuk died... I've known them since I was a kid, they're very good guys. Andriy Kostyk from Yasin, also our countryman, we fought in the same company," Stepan recalls sadly. The realization that the war can take his life does not leave, but he tries to look forward with optimism: "We have a very good team here, just awesome - complete mutual understanding. And although it is not easy and I am already tired, I will continue to fight."

Mountains in the heart and edelweiss on the chevron

Stepan fought in different directions — Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, but everywhere he lacked his native Carpathians.

"My village is only 20 kilometers from Hoverla," he says. "Although I have been to the very top only once — there are always a lot of tourists there, and I don't like crowds — meadows, forests, mountains — all this has been in my blood since childhood." In his native village, he climbed steep cliffs behind edelweiss, rare flowers that have now become a symbol of his brigade. "And I also love bryndzia very much — real, sheep, they send it to me here from time to time," Stepan adds with warmth in his voice.

Today, edelweiss for Stepan is not only a memory of childhood, but also a symbol of his service.

"As a child, I climbed for edelweiss, however, in order to find them, you had to scratch yourself on a very steep rock. And now the edelweiss, the symbol of mountain infantry, is worn on the chevron of our brigade," he says.

A warrior with a Carpathian soul

Stepan's story is an example of courage, self-sacrifice and love for his native land. From a young man climbing edelweiss on the Carpathian slopes to a fighter holding positions under enemy fire, he carried an indomitable spirit and faith in victory in his heart. Despite the fatigue and pain of losses, Stepan continues to fight, supporting his comrades and carrying a symbol on his chevron that reminds him of home - edelweiss, a flower of the mountains that has become the sign of his brigade.

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