Olena Kovbiy, a member of the High Council of Justice, the first female judge in the history of Ukraine, who took up arms and went to defend Ukrainian land from Russian occupiers, told UNN in an exclusive interview about her experience of serving in Bakhmut, why she returned there for the second time, and whether she plans to return to the front again.
The first impression was confusion. We were the first to arrive in the combat zone and were taken straight to our positions. First of all, Donetsk region means armor and helmets. We thought we were going to be taken to the headquarters, because all the staff officers were in the minibus. We were taken to the position, and the position, so you understand, is "three green trees" and that's it. Then the field and the enemy. And a white bus and a Neoplan bus pull into this landing. The driver of the Neoplan comes up to me and asks what he should do. I said, "I don't know, at least leave and preferably quickly. In addition, the battalion's engineers have arrived at these positions, which means that they have all the battalion's ammunition with them
According to her, when they found themselves in the positions near Bakhmut, they had to dig shelters for themselves. These shelters were called "holes" by the military who were already in position. "Mine was like a grave," recalls Kovbiy.
"On the first day, our commander, like a real commander, went to the positions that one of our companies was supposed to take. He hit a tripwire, got very seriously wounded, and was evacuated. We are in shock - the first day in the zone (of combat operations - ed.), and we are without a commander. The battalion has not yet fully entered, one company has entered, and the commander is gone - he is in the hospital, and we do not know what to do," said Kovbiy.
She added that their headquarters at the time was based in the House of Creativity for Children and Youth, and they had to sleep in the basement. Kovbiy noted that there was one other female soldier besides her, but there was no gender difference at the front.
Speaking about why she decided to go to the front in Bakhmut for the second time, Kovbiy said she realized that she would be needed by the battalion there.
"I was still serving, there was a combat order, although the commander still asked if I would go with the battalion. I told him that you need me there, and he said yes," explained Kovbiy.
She added that the second time she was in Bakhmut was more difficult because it was not positional fighting, but fighting in the city. Kovbiy said that she held the position of head of civil-military cooperation, was first acting, and after being promoted to officer, she was no longer acting, and also temporarily acted as the battalion's lawyer.
In the combat zone, her main task was to work with the dead and missing. That is, all the paperwork and initial examination of the bodies. According to her, her experience as a judge helped her to cope psychologically with such work. Kovbiy also noted that she is ready to return to the front if necessary.
"In July, I retired from the army, I am a reserve officer, and if it comes to the end, I will leave without hesitation. Although I understand that we currently have only 17 members of the HCJ out of 21 according to the law, and this is critical," noted Kovbiy.