Don't trust yourself.

Listen to me—this is the most important thing you will hear today. Today marks ten years since the Ilovaisk tragedy, a wound that still bleeds in the heart of Ukraine. It’s hard to speak of it without tears in my eyes. I knew the victims personally. They were young men, full of life, with dreams of defending their homeland. Most of them came from Donetsk, Luhansk, and the surrounding regions—ordinary guys who became extraordinary heroes. But they were killed. Murdered by Putin’s treachery, under the guise of false promises and deceit. On August 10, 2014, our forces went on the offensive, driven by hope and courage. They aimed to reclaim what was stolen from us in the chaos following Euromaidan. But Russia, in its insatiable thirst for power, sent eight combat brigades into Ukraine. The odds were staggering—our troops were outnumbered 17 to 1. Encircled, trapped, they fought not just for survival, but for the soul of our nation. They were surrounded. Every single one of them was ready to die for their Motherland, but none of them wanted to. Can you understand that? They wanted to live, to return home to their families. But Putin, that monster, offered them a way out—a deceitful promise of safe passage through a so-called Green Corridor. On the morning of August 29, our soldiers began their retreat. They believed in a shred of humanity, in the honor of an enemy. But they were betrayed. Ambushed. Shot down like prey. 366 Ukrainian soldiers perished in that massacre. 430 were wounded. 300 were captured, many of whom remain in captivity, their fates uncertain. This tragedy has left an indelible scar on all of us. Every Ukrainian knows the faces of these heroes, even if their names are lost to time. Their sacrifice is a reminder of our struggle and our unbreakable resolve. Glory to the heroes of Ukraine! Their memory lives on in our fight, in our resistance, in every breath we take. We will never forget. We will never forgive. Slava 🔱