08 July 2024
My war started in Crimea: Oleksandr Honcharov
Today we highlight the story of veteran Oleksandr Honcharov, whose service was inextricably linked to Crimea and for whom the peninsula became home.
Born in Kherson, Oleksandr went to the Kyiv Higher Naval Political School in 1991 and graduated in 1995. He was first assigned to the city of Odesa and in January 1996 to Crimea.
He began his service in Novoozerne, not far from Yevpatoriia. He served first on the ship Simferopol, then on the ship Slavutych, and eventually became the deputy commander of a surface ship brigade for moral and psychological support.
“In this position, I experienced all these traumatic events of 2014, which for our brigade began somewhere around February 24. For me and my comrades, many of whom are still serving in the Ukrainian Navy, all these events took place mostly on the command ship Slavutych.
“What happened there… The moment of resistance… I have thoughts in my head. We are at war now, so I am already drawing some parallels and seeing some differences. And one of the differences that I notice is that the events of 2014 largely did not add up in my mind, because now we realize that the enemy is there and we are here. Back then, in 2014, it was hard to believe. Our colleagues of yesterday, some even friends, some relatives… The mind understands that this is aggression against Ukraine, but the soul cannot accept it, because we are unable to comprehend it.
It was hard to understand, especially in February. Then in March, then in April… Then it became clear that this was the enemy, why he came here, and what he wanted.”
In 2014, the ships of Oleksandr’s brigade were deployed on the northern side of Sevastopol and in Striletska Bay.
“As I understand it, Russian special forces, namely underwater combat divers, were practicing the option that our ship might need to be blown up, so their combat divers swam below the ship one night and started cleaning up some parts of the hull… They were very clearly heard, because you can’t do this quietly. We launched a warning grenade attack…
In the morning, we had to find out where and in which areas this cleaning was carried out. To do this, we had to send divers down to inspect the area. And as soon as the divers started to prepare on the yacht, several light boats flew up from different directions. The ship could not leave, because two ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet stopped over the possible exit from Sevastopol Bay, and what we were doing was visible.
I remember going up to the top deck when these boats came up and pointed at us. There were about six or seven Russian military men, and these machine guns were pointed at you from different directions. It was already clear that they were not intimidating, that they were armed and could shoot. And it was then that this understanding slowly came: why they came and what they wanted.
The representatives of the Russian Black Sea Fleet tried to organize a meeting with our servicemen, primarily with commanders and officers. They promised the moon: higher salaries, housing, and social benefits.
“This issue had a bad impact in 2014, because most of the population was focused on the Black Sea Fleet, and many knew that the salary of a Black Sea Fleet officer was much higher. They thought materialistically. They thought that Russia would come, we would be paid like Russians, but we would remain in the same price segment as we lived in Ukraine.”
For several days, Slavutych remained the last center of the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol. Mornings began with hoisting the Ukrainian flag, the ship’s flag, and the national anthem played.
“The seizure of the ship lasted several hours. There was hand-to-hand combat, no firearms were used.
Later, the entire crew of the Slavutych was assembled and lined up on the upper deck. I remember one of my impressions – perhaps one of the most significant moments. It was already dark. I go up [to the deck], the Slavutych crew is already standing there—boys and men from 17 to 40, officers, contractors—and everyone starts singing the Ukrainian anthem. I walked by, and behind me was a man of about 50. And I heard him say: “What have you done to them?” I turned around and said: “You wouldn’t understand.” He said it with such disgust. How much they don’t understand what’s happening: they don’t even live in their worldview—in another galaxy, in another universe. And it was not some “Russian” military man, an ordinary Sevastopol man, a representative of the local “self-defense”, but he was “Russian” to the extreme.
Later, it was reported that many Russian people came to Sevastopol: not only the Sevastopol self-defense, but also from the hinterland of Russia, and maybe he came from there. I don’t think a [real] Sevastopolite would have asked such an idiotic question.
Then we got down from the ship, and the whole crew was walking into the city singing “Our statehood is a stronghold…” (the Navy march — ed.)—a songful ship crew.”
Active operations were almost over by then. Officers and their families were being organized to leave by their cars and special trains for the mainland of Ukraine. There were discussions about the possible return of some ships to the Ukrainian Navy.
“We did manage to retrieve a few ships: my colleague and I, for example, retrieved the demagnetization vessel Balta. Many of the officers, midshipmen, and men who were directly involved in these events in 2014 are still serving, and quite effectively.
Even though Crimea was seized in 2014, most citizens still do not understand this. Just like we didn’t understand it back in 2014: “How can this be? We are brothers, friends…” Many people did not understand this even now [at the time of the outbreak of the full-scale war]. We had no questions about Russia’s actions and intentions.”
Now Oleksandr is retired, teaches at a military lyceum, and wants to return to liberated Crimea.
“But I’m not ready to answer whether I’m ready to go back to live there, but I think I would like to return…
I had one moment in 2016-2017. A colleague, my subordinate, returned from the east of Ukraine. We, the entire 1st Brigade from the Slavutych ship, exchanged views and said: “We will return to the Slavutych!” Then he said: “But I won’t be able to climb it. I feel like it’s contaminated for me.”
So I’m not even ready to say that I want to go back and live in Crimea again. I don’t know how I would react. I want to, and I am sure that it [Crimea] will return. Because justice must exist. Evil exists and because of it, we know what good is. But this does not mean that evil should win.”
The materials were created as part of the #10yearsofresistance information campaign in cooperation with the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. The information campaign is part of the events dedicated to the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.