Qarşılıq / Resistance: codename “Lancer” 

Qarşılıq / Resistance is a series of stories by representatives of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples — military personnel, and veterans who fought and continue to fight for the right to live in a free and independent Ukrainian state. On the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide, five Ukrainian servicemen and veterans of Crimean Tatar origin talk about their motivation to resist the Russian occupiers with weapons in their hands.

Today, a veteran of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo, with the codename “Lancer”, who joined the Defense Forces of Ukraine on February 26, 2022, and was seriously wounded while liberating Kherson region, tells his story. 

“I was born in deportation, but I don’t remember anything about it. For me, Uzbekistan is just an inscription on my birth certificate, my home has always been Crimea. 

When my brother and I were two years old, our family — parents, grandmother and five children — returned from the places of deportation. My parents tried very hard to give us a happy childhood, despite the lack of money, despite the difficulties and the need to build a house and our whole life from scratch. 

We were on our own land. We were at home. 

In 2014, our sense of home was taken away again. My father foresaw this because he warned us that we could not trust the Russians, absolutely no one. I didn’t understand much as a child, but I felt the silent contempt that the Russians generously “bestowed” on us. They always behaved as if we, the Crimean Tatars, were strangers in Crimea, and they, on the contrary, were the hosts. 

And yet, I still could not fully believe that Russia would actually invade the territory of Ukraine and allow itself to break into someone else’s home like that. But they did. And after 2014, I learned my father’s lesson forever — you can’t trust Russians. 

І навіть попри це, я все одно не міг до кінця повірити, що Росія дійсно посягне на територію України, дозволить собі отак увірватися в чужий дім. Але вони це зробили. І після 2014 року я назавжди засвоїв батьківський урок — росіянам вірити не можна. 

That is why my brother and I did not hesitate to take up arms when the Russians started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Because there was no other way. We have to defend our homeland, we have to liberate our native Crimea. 

With the same thoughts I went to one of the combat missions during the counteroffensive in the Kherson region. 

Then a tank came at us. Two of my comrades were killed instantly, and two others did not wait for evacuation. My arm was almost torn off. My brother was next to me and that gave me confidence and peace of mind. “I will make it. I will manage,” I repeated to myself for seven long hours while waiting for evacuation. 

And I made it. I managed.”

The family of “Lancer”, like each of the heroes of our project, was deported by the Soviet authorities in 1944 and overcame a difficult and long journey to return to Crimea. Unfortunately, Russia’s crimes have not been punished and they are repeated. That is why “Lancer” did not hesitate to take up arms to liberate his home, as it was the second time the Russians had taken away his home. 

The resistance continues!