Last weekend he took part in the all-Ukrainian race “I honor soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!”, Which is connected with the most tragic page in the modern history of Ukraine - military aggression by the Russian Federation. "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" is held in memory of Ukrainian soldiers who gave their lives defending the territory of Ukraine from Russian troops since 2014. The race in memory of Ukrainian soldiers was held on August 28 in the capital and other cities of Ukraine, so I decided to stop my choice at the Kyiv start, as it was in Kyiv that this race was held for the first time.
The war in Ukraine against Russian aggression
Another Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2014, when the armed forces of the Russian Federation, following the orders of the Russian dictator treacherously, vilely, and in violation of all international laws, launched armed aggression against Ukraine and its citizens. During the war, 4,150 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and between 9.5 and 10.5 thousand Ukrainian servicemen were wounded to varying degrees in defending Ukraine's territorial integrity from Russian occupation forces.
Help about the race
Race "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" launched in 2018 by Oleg Durmasenko - the father of the deceased hero of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The first annual race took place on August 25, 2018, in Kyiv. It gathered more than 300 participants, including participants in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, relatives, friends, and colleagues of the fallen soldiers, representatives of British embassies, the military attaché of the US Embassy. George Lutz, the founder of the American organization "Honor and Remember" and the organizer of the all-American race for fallen soldiers, was a special guest of the race.
Registration
Register for the race "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" it was possible through the official Facebook page, where you had to fill out a google form indicating your details, the distance the participant wants to run, namely 10 or 5 kilometers and the name of the fallen soldier of Ukraine, whose memory the participant wants to honor (the name I could not specify the soldier, then the organizers themselves provided it to the participant). Participation in the race was free.
The route of the race "I respect the soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" for participants who ran a distance of 10 kilometers consisted of two kilometers of 5 kilometers each (for a distance of 5 kilometers - one circle) and passed through the central streets of Kyiv. The start and finish of the race were located on Independence Square.
Run
Participants of the race "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" could a few days before the start in the center "YARMIZ" and on the day of the start on the territory of the starting town, which was located on Independence Square. Since there was no desire to get my starting number on the day of the start, I decided to pick it up the day before the race.
The start of the race "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" was scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Therefore, when I arrived at Independence Square, it was completely filled with participants of the race, who were waiting for the start. The start for the distances of 10 and 5 kilometers was separate, the participants started first for the distance of 10 kilometers, and 5 minutes later the participants for the distance of 5 kilometers.
Since it was more of a memory run, the run was mostly fun, although the first 3 miles were covered in 23 minutes and the entire distance in 53 minutes. The main feature of this race was that on the number, each participant was written the name of a Ukrainian soldier who died during the Russian aggression and whose memory the participant honors during the race "I respect soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!". As for my number, it had the name of Yevgeny Reznikov, a sergeant of the 25th OPDB, who died in the sky over Luhansk airfield.
Eugene Reznikov
Evgeny Reznikov was born in Kryvyi Rih and until 2014 worked as an assistant locomotive driver. With the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, he was mobilized to 25 OPDB, where he held the position of platoon commander. And on the night of June 14, 2014 fighters of the crew of three IL-76 planes were sent on rotation to a zone of carrying out the anti-terrorist operation. During the landing at Luhansk airfield, the plane carrying Yevhen Reznikov and 39 other soldiers and 9 members was shot down by the Russian military.
Impression
Impressions, as it is, are only a small wish: in the race "I respect the soldiers, I run for the heroes of Ukraine!" Every Ukrainian must find time and take part in honoring those Ukrainian soldiers who gave their lives for the "Russian world" not to come to Ukrainian cities.