“On October 14, the Poltava TCC and SP reported about the fighter. By civilian profession, an electrician, in 2020 he signed a contract for military service…”, — write on: armyinform.com.ua
Read for: 4 min. October 14, 2024, 12:27 p.m
Soldier Anton Barantsov from Poltava Oblast is 29 years old, of which he has been a professional soldier for four years. On October 14, the Poltava TCC and SP reported about the fighter.
By civilian profession, an electrician, in 2020 he signed a contract for military service for a period of three years.
He chose the 72nd mechanized brigade named after the Black Zaporozhets, where his father was doing military service at that time. He gained his first combat experience in the OOS at the Avdiivska “promka”, took part in combat operations in Volnovas.
Anton met a full-scale Russian invasion as part of his unit in the Kyiv region. He says that they knew about the upcoming offensive of the Russian troops and were on full alert for a week.
They arrived in the capital on the night of February 24, an hour before the first enemy rockets flew. Then there was fear, the soldier admits: they did not understand how the Russian offensive would develop. And resisting rocket attacks is not a task for the infantry.
In the evening, units of the 72nd brigade took up positions in the Irpen area. Near the bridge over the Irpin river, which was blown up to prevent the advance of Russian troops on Kyiv.
“When it started, there was fear. And the first fight was already on adrenaline. I was the driver of an MTLB equipped with a memory stick. But we did not use it for its intended purpose, but to deter enemy assaults. In the two years of my participation in the OOS, I have never seen anything like this: there was an assault once every two or three days, or even a week, and in Irpen there was simply an onslaught, Russians marched by the thousands – on armored vehicles, on tanks. There were much more of them than us. But we were no longer afraid. There was an understanding that we have work to do and it must be done. As they say, do what you have to and let it be, what will be,” recalls the military man.
After the Defense Forces of Ukraine with titanic efforts managed to repel the occupying army outside Kyiv Region, the 1st Battalion of the 72nd Brigade, in whose ranks soldier Barantsov served, was redeployed to Kharkiv Region at the end of April.
The battalion was to become the strike force of the Ukrainian counteroffensive on the occupied Kozacha Lopan. However, he came under enemy fire, suffered significant personnel losses and was redeployed.
Anton received a concussion, and while the personnel replenishment and combat adjustment were taking place, he had time to undergo treatment in the medical unit.
The next place of combat missions was the Luhansk region. “Black Zaporozhets” arrived in Siverskodonetsk district in June.
Various units took up positions between Lysychansk and Siverskodonetsk. Barantsov’s crew was performing tasks at the Lysychansky Refinery, so that the enemy did not enter and gain a foothold on its territory.
Then, as part of the unit, they were redeployed to the Bakhmut direction, where they held their positions until September. In October, the new place of performance of tasks became Ugledar.
“My crew mainly had the task of stopping enemy assaults. Our large-caliber weapons are capable of firing 250 rounds in 30 seconds. They worked to suppress. They held positions in this direction for several months. And they repelled several assaults every day. Vodiane was still ours then. Forever remembered the day of February 23, 2023. We went out to suppress the assaults three times from 9 in the morning until noon, every hour then the Russians stormed, wave after wave. At 1:00 p.m., we were intercepted by an “orlan”. And the dugout where we were was directly hit,” the soldier said.
At that time, the equipment was camouflaged in a forest lane, and six servicemen were in an underground hiding place a few tens of meters away from it. A powerful targeted explosion killed two soldiers, others were injured in varying degrees of severity. Two soldiers lost their upper limbs as a result of the explosion. One of them is Anton Barantsov.
“He received a concussion of moderate severity, his left arm was torn off at the shoulder, a severe shrapnel wound on his leg, and another shrapnel stopped below the collarbone. He gave first aid to himself. He put two tourniquets on his arm and leg. He lay waiting for evacuation for two hours. To be honest, I already thought that the woman would have to cook cabbage and bake pies. Because we were lying wounded, and we continued to be “covered”. I did not expect that someone would pull us out. Thank God, our brothers were able to break through and evacuate us,” the soldier recalls.
It was possible to deliver Anton and his wounded comrades from the unit to the evacuation point in time. Ahead was a checkpoint, hospitals, hospitals, many months of treatment and prosthetics in Poland.
In the end, the soldier passed the VLK and was recognized as suitable for service in the rear units. In January 2024, he was transferred to the Third Department of the Kremenchug District TCC and SP in the village of Semenivka. His duties include dressing up and making announcements.
“The people we talk to see that I’m wearing a prosthesis. They don’t shout “go fight!” to me, but the boys with me do. Although they were all transferred after combat injuries. I understand that every woman, every mother is afraid to let her husband, son, father go to war. However, we now have a big war going on, which we did not start, but we had to finish it. Therefore, every man must stand up for the defense of the Motherland — there is no other way to defeat the occupiers. I saw what the Russians were doing near Kyiv, in the Kharkiv region – they must be stopped once and for all,” emphasizes soldier Anton Barantsov.
As ArmiyaInform reported, the Dnipropetrovsk TCC reacted to the shameful behavior of a businessman who publicly insulted military personnel.
