Apr 30, 2022
Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!
Today we hear a very different Combat Story from Sergey Dyadkin,
a Ukrainian patriot, Special Forces and Territorial Defense Force
soldier fighting in Ukraine against Russia today.
Help support Combat Story on Patreon. We have a special segement
from this interview only available on our Patreon at www.patreon.com/combatstory
Sergey fought back some of the first Russian incursions into Kiev
and was in the city of Schastia in eastern Ukraine just 20 miles
from the Russian border when the shelling, tanks, and invasion
began. He captured some of the first Russian prisoners of the war
and, you’ll note in the discussion, treated them humanely, which
we’ve seen is not the case for both sides in this war.
We found Sergey thanks to Ryan Hendrickson, who many will recall
from two previous Combat Story episodes where Ryan described having
his leg mangled by an IED only to return to combat and earn a
Silver Star.
In true Ryan fashion, he voluntarily left the US and his life to
help the people in Ukraine. While in Kiev, Ryan met Sergey and they
connected over a shared Special Forces background. Sergey’s Special
Forces operational tempo was so high that he was sent to the
Territorial Defense Forces to escort humanitarian aid efforts as a
break!
I hope you enjoy this important and unique insight into the
experiences of a frontline soldier fighting against Russia who, at
such a young age, can differentiate between the Russian people and
a Russian tyrant, who can already forgive, and who just wishes
people could go back to a peaceful co-existence.
You’ll notice we’re using a translator. Sergey speaks English but I
wanted him to be able to express himself more in his native
language. We’ve also got Ryan Hendrickson just off-screen for most
of the interview helping provide some additional context as his and
Sergey’s paths are now intertwined. For those listening and who
aren’t watching the video on YouTube or Spotify, Sergey is sitting
at his Army base and wearing his military fatigues with his weapon
slung throughout the interview, reminding us that when the
interview ended and we all go back to our lives, he went back to
war.
This is one I’ll never forget and I hope you enjoy this as much as
I did.
Find Ryan Online:
Patreon Community
Combat Story Merch
Ryan’s Linktree
Instagram @combatstory
Facebook @combatstoryofficial
Send us messages
Email ryan@combatstory.com
Learn more about Ryan
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
0:51 - Guest Introduction (Sergey Dyadkin)
3:21 - Interview begins
4:27 - The role of the Territorial Defense Forces in the war in
Ukraine
6:27 - Sergey as a kid growing up in Ukraine
12:40 - Training process to become Special Forces in Ukraine
16:12 - Combat Story #1 - First time in combat with a
reconnaissance unit
20:55 - Combat Story #2 - Capturing some of the first Russian
prisoners of the war
29:47 - What Sergey you like people to know about the experiences
Ukrainian people
32:14 - What he thinks of President Zelensky
33:35 - We hear from Ryan Hendrickson
38:35 – Organizations that are helping and how to get involved
41:57 – Closing and special clip available on Combat Story
Patreon