In the interrupted flow of terrible images of the conflict in Ukraine, those of the death of the Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Maslovsky, nom de guerre, Cobra, member of the 71st brigade, killed during a bloody hand-to-hand combat, filmed by a drone and by his own camera, will remain for memory. Recorded on November 17, they were broadcast by Russian media this week and taken up by Ukrainian media.
That day, Andrei Grigoriev, 36, a Russian soldier from Yakutia, the coldest area in Russia, was sent to Trudove, in the Donesk region, with the mission of planting a flag on a building, signifying the advance of Putin’s troops. He was traveling on a motorbike with a friend, another soldier, when the two men were spotted by a Ukrainian drone and immediately chased. The kamikaze drone rushes towards them, explodes and reduces the motorcycle to smithereens, but the two Russians, unharmed, continue on foot. Unfortunately for them, other drones are infecting the sky. Grigoriev’s friend is killed in a new explosion while he takes refuge in a ruined house.
Fight to the death
On the other side, in this end-of-the-world landscape, advances soldier Dmytro Maslovsky, 30 years old, from a village near Odessa. He has spotted Grigoriev and tries to talk him into surrendering, which Grigoriev refuses. Drowning in rumors, many Russian conscripts believe they will be raped if they surrender. Dmytro Masloskyi is still approaching the building where the Russian has taken refuge when he is hit by a gust which injures him. For the next seven minutes, the camera attached to his helmet will record his last moments while a Ukrainian observation drone will immortalize the scene seen from the sky.
Andreï Grigoriev, 36 years old, Russian soldier from Yakutia.
© DR
Wounded and out of breath, Dmytro Maslovsky throws a grenade into the house, thinking of neutralizing the Russian soldier. But this one has already come out to meet him. The two men each grab their opponent’s assault rifle, and fall to the ground unarmed, rolling against each other in a wild hand-to-hand combat, of which the camera records the shocks, the screams, the blows, the screams, the gasps. “You’re invading my country you son of a bitch!” », shouts Dmytro in the furious melee. One of the two men takes out a knife, the two fighters try to gain control of it. It’s a fight to the death. The Russian bites the Ukrainian’s hand until it bleeds. A scene worthy of the film “Saving Private Ryan”. Except it’s not a movie. “When we came to the clinch, we both understood, he understood too I suppose, that only one of us would make it. We knew that one of us had to die,” explained Andrei Grigoriev, nom de guerre Tuta, with a swollen face and one ear torn off, in an interview given to Russian media.
“Let me say goodbye to heaven and my mother, you already killed me”
Little by little, Andreï Grigoriev gains the upper hand over the Ukrainian, and stabs his body with great stabs, passing under the tactical vest, aiming at his throat to better finish him. He, desperate, calls a friend for help, who does not come. The Ukrainian is seriously injured, the Russian is almost astride him and suddenly the fight stops.
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Dmytro Maslovsky, nom de guerre, Cobra, member of the 71st brigade, killed during a bloody hand-to-hand combat.
© DR
Blood flows before the eye of the camera, the breaths of the two men intermingle, we see their hands reddened by the merciless struggle. “When he realized that he couldn’t do anything more, he said to me: ‘Let me say goodbye to heaven and to my mother, you have already killed me,’” says Andrei Grigoriev. We can clearly hear Dmytro Maslovsky, knowing he was being recorded, say: “It’s over, mom, goodbye. » The Russian still hesitates, knife in hand. The Ukrainian does not beg him but says: “You stabbed me all over my body, let me catch my breath a little.” It hurts a lot. Don’t touch me, let me die alone, please leave. »
The soundtrack is difficult to listen to. The Russian is still motionless. Dmytro Masloskyi then had these words for the man who had just taken his life: “Thank you, you are the best fighter in the world. Goodbye, you were better.” “Farewell, my brother,” replies Andreï Grigoriev, who pulls out a grenade that Dmytro Maslovsky was carrying and leaves it on his stomach, hoping in vain to shorten his suffering. The explosion only aggravates his injuries. Andreï Grigoriev returns and ends up firing three bullets to finish off his opponent. In Russia as in Ukraine, we salute the bravery of the two soldiers and the mutual respect of the warriors. But if everyone praises the heroism of its representative, this infernal sequence will remain above all because, far from the images recorded by drone and generally devoid of sound, far from hypersonic missiles and the technical sophistication of combat, it recalls in its total crudeness, the primal savagery and the absurdity of this war. And all the others.
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