A Soldier Accidentally Met a Comrade He Mourned for Two Years.

Soldiers Andriy Mazur and Vitaliy Chornovol served together in the 25th Air Assault Brigade. During the battle, Andriy saw Vitaliy being covered by earth. At that moment, he thought the comrade hadn't survived. The men recounted their accidental meeting in a foreign city to both of them to «Suspilne».

Andriy is engaged in volunteering, having come to Rivne to raise funds for his comrades. Vitaliy arrived here for the second Time a month ago for treatment.

«It was an assault. Avdiivka. Then I saw him and... So much time has passed, I thought he was gone. And he thought the same about me», – said veteran Vitaliy Chornovol.

«After that battle, unfortunately, I lost him. I couldn't find him. He turned out to have been covered in earth. Honestly, I thought he was dead», – recalled veteran Andriy Mazur.

They defended Avdiivka together in the spring of 2022. Vitaliy is 40, originally from Uman, while the 50-year-old Andriy is from Kamianske.

«I see someone coming. I think, some boar is coming, probably a local. And then I see – it's him coming. And I was just shocked! How long is that? We haven’t seen each other since April 2022. This is hard to explain. Knowing that your comrade wasn't among the living anymore, and here he is – in front of you. So many years have passed. We hugged and cried», – shared Vitaliy Chornovol.

«You should have seen the reaction of the people who were around when we saw each other. It was an incredible experience! We hugged for probably five minutes and couldn’t believe we had actually reunited. Fate brought us together again! I'm very glad he's alive and well», – added veteran Andriy Mazur.

«I just sat down, didn't know what to think, what to do, what to say. There is a God in the world. I hope there will be many such reunions. This war will end, and all the guys will be forever etched in memory, in the history of Ukraine,» confirmed Vitaliy Chornovol.

During the battles in the Donetsk region, Andriy and Vitaliy said they lost many comrades.

«I had a lot of friends until 2014, but after 2014, I had comrades. This is far stronger than friends because a comrade at the front is even more than a brother. We met in the 25th Air Assault Brigade. For me, he is a hero. Because a man with three children... He could have just stayed home, saying he is a father of many children, but the guy went to defend the country», – said Andriy Mazur.

«We became friends because we have the call «always first», – added Vitaliy Chornovol.

Comrades exchanged phone numbers and are planning to visit each other.

Recall, a Hero of Ukraine with five bullets in his body evacuated a group from an ambush in Kursk.

Moreover, a soldier from the 65th Brigade defended a semi-surrounded position for 56 days. Due to the intensity of shelling and large distances, the comrades who were supposed to relieve the fighter could not make it – being injured on the way. Thus, the fighter conducted the war with a partner against a group of Russian stormtroopers.

Also, a scout from the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi, Vadym, with the callsign Vados, managed to escape from captivity, return to his own, and continue fighting against the occupiers.