Two kilometers that can take 25 days to cross

(KYIV, UKRAINE) – A border guard serving as a guide with the “Sword” unit of the “Forpost” brigade has described how a journey of just 1.72 kilometres can take up to 25 days to complete amid relentless drone threats, artillery fire and minefields on the front line.

The serviceman, known by the callsign “Tikhon”, spoke of the extreme dangers facing guides who escort troops to and from forward positions. His role requires him to meet soldiers, lead them to their positions and bring them back out again, with the success of each mission resting on his shoulders.

“The hardest thing is to get to and get out of the position. The transitions themselves,” Tikhon said.

Enemy drones frequently halt all movement for days at a time. Guides must wait for fog or rain to provide cover, hide when necessary and constantly alter their routes. “If you come under fire, then for several days it is better not to go there, not to show yourself,” he said. “The desired weather is fog, rain. It is difficult now, we only wait for weather to walk, and it is very rare when we can pass in good weather.”

The physical and psychological toll on troops is severe. Tikhon described how exhausted soldiers abandon equipment along the route, sometimes discarding their backpacks entirely. “The closer to the final exit point, the harder it becomes morally and psychologically,” he said. “And they seem to give up. And, accordingly, as a guide, you have to shout at them, swear, so that they walk more actively.”

Tikhon has personally fled from drones, exchanged fire and driven over mines with his group. During one outing, an ATV overturned, an accident that ultimately saved him from being struck by a drone. On another occasion, a quad bike was destroyed. One soldier was wounded on the first evening of an operation, and the following morning the group set out again. “We were lucky that we overturned on the quad bike and the drone did not hit,” he said. “A few wounded. But everyone is alive.”

The guide carries only essential supplies: sausage, a burner, gas, bread, canned meat and cigarettes. Provisions are limited to no more than three days, depending on the position and the route.

Despite the dangers, Tikhon’s hopes for the future are modest. He dreams of travelling the world with his wife, eating fried potatoes with salo and drinking proper kompot. Preferably not in nature. “Because nature,” he said, “is already a little tired.”