An elderly Ukrainian man described how he used a stolen grenade launcher to attack a fuel tanker in Bucha and detonated a column of Russian tanks.
As the convoy travelled into Kyiv, 64-year-old Valentyn Didkovskiy waited alone for it to pass before unleashing his wrath and destroyed many cars in a massive conflagration.
He then yelled, “I f***ing gave them what for!” as he inspected the burning ruin and ordered for his companions to finish out the remaining pieces of the shattered column in Irpin.
The Lviv-born former soldier joined the Soviet Army in 1979 and served there until relocating to Kyiv, where he worked as a cab driver while living with family in Bucha.
He sought to enlist up to the Ukrainian war effort following the Russian invasion but was rejected down because he had just had a stroke.
But despite being a seasoned combatant, he nonetheless made a heroic contribution to his nation by destroying a convoy on his own, creating one of the war’s most iconic pictures.
Three days after Putin’s brutal assault in February began, a column of Russian tanks and military vehicles began to move on Kyiv with the goal of capturing the Ukrainian capital in a matter of days.
But they were stopped in their tracks and ultimately forced to turn around due to the resistance of the Ukrainian army and volunteers like Didkovskiy.
A cemetery of burned-out and contorted Russian tanks was discovered in Bucha when forces ultimately withdrew, although the reason for the destruction remained unknown.
Powerful pictures of a road lined with demolished Russian weaponry grabbed headlines all around the globe, revealing Putin’s military’s weakness in the face of such vehement Ukrainian opposition.
Didkovskiy has now explained to RFERL how he was the improbable cause of the widespread destruction.
Those were Kadyrov’s army, f***ing. They’ve come here f***ing, and now they’re f***ing dead. That is all that is left of them, f*** it.
Didkovskiy claimed he began supporting troops on the front line by providing them weapons, food and cigarettes.
He begged troops in Bucha for weapons but was told he couldn’t join the army, so he scavenged a grenade launcher in Irpin.
He was given an RPG-18 and four grenades that the Ukrainian defence troops had retrieved from wrecked personnel carriers and tanks.
The volunteer formation of the pensioner had dispersed, but he remained in his home, ready to attack if the Russians came by.
He was prepared to take action when he heard the sound of military vehicles passing by his neighbourhood early on February 27.
“I observed a massive column coming from the Bucha train station,” he said.
“I had my four grenades and my grenade launcher ready.” I hurried to the gate, but the location wasn’t ideal. Within 30 metres, the column was.
A column of Russian tanks and military vehicles was travelling in the direction of Kiev only three days after Putin began the vicious campaign in February.
I went around the back of the home, where a trailer was parked next to a fence. I gently climbed upon it. The first armoured personnel carrier went past, then an infantry vehicle, another people carrier, a tank.
“I saw a gasoline truck out of the corner of my eye and thought, “Maybe it’ll halt some of them.””
Then Didkovskiy described how he pointed his grenade launcher at the truck and fired, setting off a huge explosion and spilling the fuel, rendering the Russians immobile.
He continued to throw two grenades, but he only released one.
The elderly fled to a neighbor’s home as the fire tore through the neighbourhood and heard many large booms.
Even Didkovskiy’s own home was partially destroyed by the flames, but his son and other veterans are assisting him in rebuilding it.
After reaching protection, he phoned the commander of his battalion and directed them to fire at the stopped convoy.
He told Pravda that the lads began yelling at them after five to ten minutes had passed.
They resembled explosions in that way. There were several really large explosions, although I’m not sure what they were utilised for.
After moving on to Irpin to avoid a blocked roadway, a portion of the shattered column encountered more Ukrainian defences and was forced to retire to Bucha after losing two armoured personnel carriers and several men.
They were unable to continue their march on Kyiv from Bucha, and they never attempted it again.
Didkovskiy continues to patrol Bucha and says he is ready to deploy to the front lines if required.