Viola Shevchenko – gun commander. The woman knows everything about the M777 howitzer, which not many fighters know how to operate in Ukraine. Today, the military is protecting Ukrainian land from Russian invaders in the East.
Read the interview about how Viola Shevchenko got into the army, about working in a male team, the start of a full-scale war and plans after the victory. with the military, provided to channel 24.
In July 42-year-old senior sergeant, gun commander, gunner Viola Shevchenko ended up in a hospital bed< /strong>. Then she was “dragged under the cannon.” As the military noted, the unfortunate incident occurred due to uncoordinated actions with the driver. As a result, torn ligaments, 2 weeks in the hospital and a long recovery.
“As the guys win without me, I will be offended. I feel sad,” the military woman described her feelings at the end of July.
For her, this was the first forced “rest” of February 24th. It's been two months since then. However, the woman is still recovering. The leg is not yet bending as it should.
It's hard to say when it will heal completely. But I still can’t run under shelling,” she says.
But Viola’s guys and the M777A2 howitzer are waiting for Viola on the battlefield.
What is known about the howitzer M777
This is a trailed howitzer with a 155 mm barrel and a length of 39 calibers. Its manufacture and installation of titanium structures and anti-recoil components are carried out in the UK. However, the howitzer is finally assembled and tested at the US plant. It entered service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in May 2022.
M777A2 howitzer/Photo of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
“I know how to approach her”: gunner on working with a howitzer 777
What does your position mean in practice? What are your job responsibilities?
The gun commander must know what each person working with this gun is doing, all the ongoing processes. You have to watch every move. There are misfires, you need to know how to quickly eliminate them so as not to waste time.
In fact, you can replace anyone in any position on the gun?< /p>
Yes. But since the projectile weighs a little more than me, it's a bit tricky. In total, 8 people work with the cannon.
This cannon is called “three axes”. Why such a name?
Everything is simple. They call it that because there are three sevens in the name.
It's a 155mm howitzer, right? A2 means it's with updated software, right?
It should be. But you need to understand that this software is coded. Naturally, our partners, when it was handed over to us, did not give us their codes and ciphers. We work mechanically. We do not use the software, because it is the property of the state that provided us with the gun. This is a military secret.
Military men say that you are very cool, because few people in Ukraine know how to control such guns. How do you do it?
Let me explain with an example: you have your own car. You know in your car where the blues are. Imagine that you sit in another car, someone else's, and someone will borrow yours and will not treat it very carefully. I have such an attitude to the gun. It is mine. If someone else takes it, they will definitely break it, will not clean it. I will scream and curse. I know all the mopes, what she needs to do, how to approach her.
5 years in the army: searching for yourself and the attitude of relatives
And how did you even learn to manage it?
In 2017, I joined the army, signed a contract. Then she worked in communication. I remember that we had our first exit to the sector, but the messengers had nothing to do there. I was very bored.
But there was a man who was not afraid to experiment (now he is our big boss, commander). He suggested to our battalion commander to put me in a flood. And I left, studied on the go, in the field. But I liked it.
Then, when there was a vacancy for the commander of the gun, he offered me again. And the battalion commander doubted this time. To which I heard: well, if it doesn’t work out, she will again be a flood. But everything worked out. I still love this thing. It is mine. I enjoy digging through metal. Hands in a solarium are normal.
Artilleryman Viola Shevchenko/Photo courtesy of the editors
For the last 5 years you have been serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. What did you do before?
I worked in Odessa. We had a wholesale distribution company. Let's just say that my arrival in the army was preceded by a not entirely funny story. I needed something in my life to change abruptly by 180 degrees. I was very emotionally exhausted then. I went to work like hard labor.
Did you immediately like the army? Were there any doubts?
There were doubts. I said that at first I came as a connection. Honestly, I'm so restless, I was bored in touch. I didn’t like that it was the same work, everything was constantly repeated. And when the opportunity arose to change my profile, I took advantage of it and have no regrets.
Have you been in your familymilitary?
No, nobody. Only the husband is in the military. We've been together for 4 years now. But he works at the headquarters. And I am jumping through the fields. By the way, I have a good tan. I compensated for the absence of the sea.
And how do your relatives who do not serve feel about the fact that you are in the army?
This is a super complex question. My aunt is more supportive. The rest are difficult. They don't understand what I'm doing and why.
Help.Viola Shevchenko was born in Vilnius (Lithuania). I moved to Ukraine about 20 years ago.
“Emotionally, I'm much more resilient” : about serving in a male team
I wonder what your opinion about women in the army is. How do they fight? Is there inappropriate treatment of women in the army?
Physically, next to my guys, I'm weaker. But I understand that emotionally much more resilient. They cling to me, I am like a support for them. I can't afford to shed a tear in front of my guys.
Perhaps I've been unlucky before to meet girls who entered the army consciously and keep up with the guys. They continue to be girls in the army. I don't like it, I'm not like that. In general, the percentage of women who come with an understanding of why they came is small.
How do you work in a male team?
I don't know how to say this without cursing. But f***. I like it very much.
“On February 22, the contract ended, and on February 24 they were mobilized again”
Where did you personally find the beginning of a full-scale invasion?
in Berdyansk. I served the last day of the contract on February 22. The next day my husband came and picked me up. I said then: that's it, I will no longer serve in the army, I will sew handbags to order. I have watched a lot of videos on the Internet on how to work with leather. We discussed with my husband what equipment to buy to process the skin.
But I managed to have dinner with my husband in a cafe only once. Eat a very tasty steak with pomegranate sauce. And the next morning, a full-scale war began. And since I was in my husband's unit at that time, they immediately mobilized me.
“Sewing handbags and raising children”: what are Viola's plans after the victory
How and where do you dream of winning?
I hope I'll be on the field with my guys when they tell us that this the shot was the last, we won.
And what do you think, will victory be soon? Or do we need to prepare for a longer war?
From what I read, I understand that there will be a protracted war, it will not end soon.
Artilleryman Viola with a cat/Photo courtesy of the editors
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What are your plans for post-war life? Does your idea of sewing bags still hold up?
Yes, yes. Handmade is mine. Before the army, I was fond of beads. I made jewelry and sold them. After the war, I will continue to work with beads. I also want to learn how to work with leather. My husband and I also decided that we would take two children from the orphanage. I guess I've already run into, now I want to be a mother.
Our dreams come true every day. We woke up, smiled, took a cup in our hands – and our dream has already come true. We just don't notice it. If sometimes something doesn’t go the way we want, then we need to adjust our dreams a little, that’s all,” Viola shares her thoughts in the end.
If only the dream of every Ukrainian and Ukrainian woman about victory!
