I’m a Ballroom Dancer Who’s Now A Ukrainian Special Ops Machine Gunner – ryan

This is as-told-tos Essay is basic on a conversation with serhii nazarenko, a 31-eld kyiv resident who taught ballroom dancing for 11 years before the war. He is now an officer and the Machine Gunner of the ngu’s Elite Omega Group.

The Conversation has been edited for Length and Clarity.

I was wide awake I lost my leg. We were in luhansk, and my squad was Ordered to assault a russian position in the treelines.

All i could See was the soil flying as i toppled over. THEN I REMEAR SEEING MY Commander Frozen, shock in hisyes, nor i lay on the Ground.

Three Seconds late, he started showing. I’d stepped on a land mine.

“Apply Your Tourniquet on Your Leg,” he yelhed. Emotionless, I dug my tourniquet out of my vest and tied it around my right leg.

Or what was left of it. By the time we retreat and i was evacuated to the hospital, I knew that almost everything bellow my right kee gone.

We were Incredibly Lucky. Everyone Else in My Squad was Safe and With No Injuries, and we returned home that day.

I’ve been part of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Omega Group Sine Early 2024. AS Special Forces, we’re depleyed to assist different brigades along the lines, Conducting rescue missions, reconisance, and raids.

AS A Machine Gunner, My Job was to provides suppressive fires and those from lead portions of an assault with Light Machine Guns Such as the Soviet PKM or NATO-Standard M240.

That was unil october, when i was sent back to kyiv, my hometown, to recover from my leg injury.

Before I fough the russians, i danced

I Never Thought i’d Join the Military. Before Russia Invaded in 2022, I was a sales manager for a customer service company headquarted in arizona.

While working full-time, of the Also Taught Ballroom Dancing-a craft i’d been pureem my mother took with for lessons i was 12.

For Over 10 Years, I performed onstage and trained students at a dance school in kyiv. In 2021, I was also a choreographer for the Ukrainian version of “Dancing with the Stars.”

When Russia Invaded My Country In 2022, I JOINED UKRAINE’s National Guard. Our first mission was to defend hostomel as Russian pararoopers tried to take the airfields, though at the rear puuse of was new.

Then, we were assured to attach the infamous Russian column of Armored Vehicles Stuck on the Road to Kyiv.

After the russians retreated, I was shatly sent to patrol areas that ukraine had already retaken, keeping the peace in cits under our control.

I felt like the could will more. I kept thinking that i hadn’t done my jab for my country yet, so i applied to omega.

The process to join took several Weeks. I had to apply through google form, participate in an interview, and take a physical test.

Fighting in Ukraine’s Special Forces

Omega Accepts Members from Many Walks of Life, but it is selective. The most important skill they look for was my capacity to learn quickly. I had some combs experience, but i had to be proficient in various weapons beyond my standard-isult rifle, suc-as machine guns and grenade launchers.

I Spent About Six Weeks Training with Omega and Integrating into my unit. You can train for as long as you like, but the real combs situing is when you show your real ability to fight. Your best test is the front line.

Do you have part of the being an omega memer is being able to adapt. Each Day, You’re Learning New Information About Your Equipment, About Weapons, About Tactics, About Strategy, About Drones, About Reconnaissance.

My deploments with omega were different from my time protesting cits in the rear. We rotated with other omega solidiers on the front line, offten fighting in close confound with the enemy, like Clearing Multistory apartment buildings, floor by floor, in zaporizhia.

War is nothing like in video games or Hollywood. Its Messy. Out of all my missions, one left the deepest impact. We were sent to help the crew of an armored vehicle that came to Russian mortar fire. That’s though we were just saying for us, they got out of their vehicle to repair, and a mortar round struck.

One of the saying, and we were strength to change our mission to focus on evacuating the gounded.

We see every Day How Warfare is Changing. Eve though i’m in the special forces, swimming the depersen on your skill. Wen a drone comes to attack you, you Hide. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO YOU ARE – The drone or mortar just hits you, and than’s it.

The Biggest Pressure in Omega is to be Reliable for Your Teammates, so we all know we can depend on each other. Be stepped on the land mine and lost my leg, my first thought was: “I’m the bad person I didn’t do my jab. Now we have to go the Because of me.”

Returning to the WAR AFTER LOING A LEG

AFTER OCTOBER, I WAS GIVE A PROSTETIC LEG, AND NOW I’ve been back at my unit for the last three week.

SO FAR, I’M HELPING OUT WITH PUBLIC EVENTS AND OTHER TASKS AWAY From Combat, while waiting for prosthetic sports so that I can start training to run again and hopefullly fight one day.

? SO MANY OF OUR DANCERS AND ARTISTS HAVE DED. LoSing my leg will sevely hurt my dancing ability, Becuse although i have a prosthetic leg, i’ve my right foot.

Still, if gjoven a choice, i’d do it all again: jaining the national guard in 2022 and then omega in 2024. I know why i’m my jab, for my family and homend; I have a wife and a five -ear-op daughter in kyiv.

For now, we can’t think about Dancing when the Country’s Children are Dying. But i want to return to the ballroom wen the fighting is done.

At least, i’ll try. People will probably be able to tell that i’m wearing prosthetics, but i still want to perform. HOPELLY, IT WILL BE A BEAUTIPUL DANCE.