🇺🇦 HE KILLED 40 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS, LOST HALF HIS FACE, AND ESCAPED ENCIRCLEMENT WITHOUT A WEAPON. When his comrades last saw 29-year-old Ukrainian soldier Mykhailo Nikitin, he was lying unconscious, covered in blood. They were certain he was dead. But he survived. And his extraordinary story is about a man who refused to die because of one simple promise: “I promised I would come back.” On the evening of October 29, 2024, Mykhailo, callsign “Nikitos,” led a 14-man unit from Ukraine's 11th National Guard Brigade into Vyshneve, near Selydove. The village was already almost entirely occupied by Russian forces. For most of his men, this would be their first serious battle. The fighting lasted more than five hours. Mykhailo moved between rooms, fired from different positions, and threw grenades through doorways, creating the impression that the Russians were facing a much larger Ukrainian force. “I personally counted exactly 40 men I killed with my own hands. Those were the ones I actually saw. There were many more situations where I fired through obstacles or into groups, so counting was impossible. I've been told the real number is much higher,” he recalled. At six in the morning, another Russian assault began. Mykhailo rushed outside, threw two grenades, and emptied four magazines toward the enemy. Then an RPG struck the yard, followed by an FPV drone that exploded just one meter from his head. The blast threw him through the air. Flying pieces of roofing absorbed much of the shrapnel, but several soldiers suffered serious injuries. Both his rifle and his comrade's weapon jammed. They had no grenades left. Their only option was to escape without weapons. As they withdrew, a Russian 120mm mortar shell exploded near them. Three men fell. One was killed instantly. Another soldier, lying behind Mykhailo, absorbed much of the shrapnel that would otherwise have struck him. A fragment pierced Mykhailo's neck, leaving his face horribly shattered. He watched his surviving comrades run across the field. They believed he was dead. Soon they disappeared from sight, leaving him alone. Then he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was bleeding heavily and struggling to stay awake. He understood that if he fell asleep again, he might never wake up. He removed his body armor, uniform, and everything else weighing him down. Then he started walking, staggering forward in what he later described as a “zombie walk.” Somehow, despite his devastating injuries, he reached the first houses in Hryhorivka. A local man came outside, saw his horrific facial wounds, and initially told him to leave. Mykhailo began shouting: “National Guard of Ukraine! Senior Sergeant Nikitin Mykhailo Anatoliiovych!” Eventually, Ukrainian soldiers came to rescue him. When they recognized him, they exclaimed: “Nikitos, you're a god!” That day, Vyshneve and Selydove fell under Russian occupation. Of the 14 soldiers in his group, only nine made it out. Five were lost. For his extraordinary courage and the reported elimination of more than 40 Russian soldiers, Mykhailo was nominated for Ukraine's Order for Courage, Third Class. His face was severely damaged, his jaw was broken, and shrapnel remained embedded in his body. Doctors planned to reconstruct his injuries using a metal plate. Yet even after everything he endured, he managed to joke: “I guess I'll be Terminator T-4000 now.” But perhaps the most powerful part of his story is what he said afterward: “I'm proud of myself. I didn't let my boys down. First, I'm a patriot. Second, I'm a warrior who understands that his job is dangerous and that risk is part of it.” He lost comrades, suffered devastating injuries, and was left for dead on a battlefield surrounded by Russian forces. Yet somehow, he found the strength to stand up and walk toward safety. Not because he wasn't afraid, but because he had made a promise to return. And he kept that promise.