The defender of Mariupol with the call sign Tarantul defended Mariupol from the first days of a full-scale invasion. Before the eyes of the hero, his hometown was wiped off the face of the earth.
The warrior defends Ukraine as part of the 503rd OBMP. He was born in Mariupol and has been defending the city from Russian invaders since 2014. Tarantula defended “Azovstal” and was captured by the enemy. In an interview, the hero spoke about the defense of the city, the execution of heroes in Yelenovka and Russian captivity.
“This is genocide. The extermination of all life”
Tarantula noted that the war lasted 8 years. At the same time, he couldn't imagine hell in 2022. The invaders wanted to put a tick in some mythical magazine that “We took Mariupol.” At the same time, at what cost this will happen, the enemy is indifferent.
No one thought that a person would have enough brains to give orders for the full-scale destruction of cities. What margarine in the mind can be to give such orders. This is genocide. Complete destruction of all life. Only birds, or maybe dogs, they did not touch. Any form of life was unacceptable for them, said the Tarantula.
The hero told how he broke through with the defenders of the city to “Azovstal”. Then, due to constant shelling, the landscape of the city was constantly changing. The warriors had light equipment. It was not designed to overcome blockages or other obstacles.
During the fighting, Mariupol was drowning in “darkness, fires and corpses”.
“I had 7 broken ribs”
During his stay at Azovstal, the soldier was wounded. Then he got into the “Zhelezka” – a bunker, which was equipped on the territory of the plant. The wounded were there.There was no sound of explosions in Zhelazania. Because the warrior could not imagine the scale of destruction. Only during the extraction did the hero see what the plant looks like. Even in silence, the Tarantula mentally felt how this or that arrival took place. The warrior immediately saw what kind of weapon was used.
Tarantula said that he was not beaten in captivity. The defenders were exhausted, and every blow could end a life. Apparently the Russians had orders that no one should die. The warrior admitted that he had 7 broken ribs, and one lung did not work for a month.
“They publicly executed our military”
In an interview, Tarantul said that the Russians could not to break the heroes of Mariupol in battles, therefore they publicly executed the military.
“The Russians did not break the “Azov” in battles, they did not achieve anything by torture. They publicly executed our military out of hopelessness. Following the methods of the NKVD, today's Russians, if not they can break the enemy, destroy him physically: they cut him, tear him to pieces. This is a terrorist machine,” the warrior said.
The hero still sees flashbacks of the battles for Mariupol. Pictures are coming all the time. Communication with youth helps the hero to recover. The warrior remarked: “this is done for them in order to prevent the destruction of culture, our ethnic group and identity.”
“Ukrainians existed long before our state was formed. Denying the existence of Ukrainians is pointless,” summed up hero.
Interview with Mariupol defender Tarantula: watch the video
