{"id":154,"date":"2022-09-05T06:31:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T06:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=154"},"modified":"2022-09-05T06:31:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T06:31:22","slug":"an-engineer-returns-to-ukraine-to-become-a-sniper-in-the-war-against-russian-invaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"An Engineer Returns to Ukraine to Become a Sniper in the War Against Russian Invaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-scaled.jpg\" data-caption=\"Ukrainian sniper Andriy training outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko)\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-696x464.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365245894-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" alt=\"\" title=\"Russia Ukraine War Volunteer Sniper\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukrainian sniper Andriy training outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>By Derek Gatopoulos and Adam Pemble, AP<\/p>\n<p>Before taking a shot, Ukrainian sniper Andriy buries his face in a foldout mat, breathing slowly and deliberately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to be completely relaxed, to find a place where I will not move the rifle when I pull the trigger,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t think about anything. It\u2019s a kind of vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a semicircle around his head are boxes of bullets, printouts of charts, a heavy-duty stapler and a roll of tape.<\/p>\n<p>Strapped to his wrist is a monitor, which is the shape of a jewelry box. It\u2019s a ballistics calculator to factor in the wind and other surrounding conditions. Bees persistently circling his head and scope are ignored.<\/p>\n<p>After a long pause, he says the word \u201cshot\u201d in Ukrainian.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_531495\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-531495\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531495 size-large\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-700x467.jpg\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531495 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365204880-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-531495\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukrainian sniper Andriy training outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Crack! A sound not unlike a starting gun used at sporting events produces a reflexive jolt in people unaccustomed to war.<\/p>\n<p>Six months ago, the noise might have startled Andriy, who had moved to Western Europe to pursue a career in engineering.<\/p>\n<p>His experience resembles that of many Ukrainians who returned home to\u00a0the war, abruptly pulled from civilian life to embrace fighting methods \u2012 modern but also\u00a0makeshift\u00a0\u2012 that have held back the far larger Russian military.<\/p>\n<p>Andriy comes from Bucha, a district near Kyiv\u2019s airport that was hammered during the Russian advance. Hundreds of civilian killings took place there, the bodies found in mass graves or left lying where they were shot in what the United Nations describes as potential war crimes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_531493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-531493\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531493 size-large\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-700x467.jpg\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531493 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365059128-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-531493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukrainian sniper Andriy training outside of Kyiv (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tall and with a good command of English, the sniper spoke to The Associated Press while practicing alone at an informal firing range near Kyiv, hoping to resolve some issues with his weapon through hours of trial and error before his next deployment.<\/p>\n<p>He asked only to be identified by his first name and that some details of his civilian life remain private.<\/p>\n<p>Andriy scrambled home, taking a flight to Budapest and arranging an 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) overland route that included paying \u201ca big amount of money\u201d to a driver willing to take a risky journey eastward. Within a few days he had joined the ferocious fight around Kyiv, adopting the war nickname \u201cSamurai.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He bought his own gear and a U.S.-made sniper rifle, and began receiving training from a special forces instructor, connected through friends in the military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarly in the morning on Feb. 24, I received a call from my mother. She lives in Bucha and told me the war had started. She could hear helicopters, airplanes, bombing and explosions. I decided to return,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>While not allowed to discuss any specifics of his operational activity, Andriy describes Ukraine\u2019s military as a force that prides itself on flexibility, harnessing a wide range of skills from its personnel to become more versatile in combat.<\/p>\n<p>Snipers, he said, are often used to spot Russian military positions for artillery targeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have also gained experience in tactical medicine, with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-kyiv-technology-business-europe-47dfea7579cedfe65a70296eb0188212\">drones<\/a>\u00a0and shooting with assault rifles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Military specialists are encouraged to learn new skills and even find their own equipment, with Western suppliers still delivering to Ukraine in a private market that is monitored by the army.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_531494\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-531494\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531494 size-large\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-700x467.jpg\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-531494 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AP22241365100397-1-560x373.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-531494\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukrainian sniper Andriy attends a training outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To protect his hearing, Andriy acquired a set of hunter\u2019s headphones that suppress the noise from his rifle while amplifying voices. \u201cYou really need these,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Russia has more than doubled the territory it controls in Ukraine since launching the invasion in February, to about 20% of the country, but Andriy shares the optimism of many fellow Ukrainians that victory will be possible after the winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think with the help of our friends in Europe and the United States that we can push them out of our territory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>His desire to become a sniper came from a familiarity with hunting rifles, common in Ukraine, and playing the role of a distance shooter in video games.<\/p>\n<p>But his goal at war: \u201cIt\u2019s to return to my home, to my family,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one of us wanted to be a warrior, a shooter, a sniper. It\u2019s just a necessity to be here now and do what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a pause he adds: \u201cI don\u2019t know how to explain this: I don\u2019t like to kill people. It\u2019s not something you want to do, but it\u2019s something you have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/an-engineer-returns-to-ukraine-to-become-a-sniper-in-the-war-against-russian-invaders\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainian sniper Andriy training outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Andrew Kravchenko) Next Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6 By Derek Gatopoulos and Adam Pemble, AP Before taking a shot, Ukrainian sniper Andriy buries his face in a foldout mat, breathing slowly and deliberately. \u201cI need to be completely relaxed, to find a place where I will not move [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-154","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}