Senior lieutenant Pavel Kuzin took his position at the machine gun - the only soldier still able to fight. Everyone else in his troop lay dead or injured.
Suffering from shell-shock and with one arm bandaged, the 37-year-old fired at the waves of Russian soldiers trying to storm his position. They didn't even try to take cover, but simply walked towards him across the open field.
It was clear Pavel wouldn't be able to hold the position for long, but he needed to buy time for a rescue team to arrive. His final action in life was to ensure his wounded comrades got to safety.
Pavel was in charge of a forward observation group that consisted of six Ukrainian soldiers. On 17 February, shortly after the start of their watch, they came under heavy fire. A tank began hammering their position.
@BBC.news.com
No guts, no glory.
They hold the line.
Suffering from shell-shock and with one arm bandaged, the 37-year-old fired at the waves of Russian soldiers trying to storm his position. They didn't even try to take cover, but simply walked towards him across the open field.
It was clear Pavel wouldn't be able to hold the position for long, but he needed to buy time for a rescue team to arrive. His final action in life was to ensure his wounded comrades got to safety.
Pavel was in charge of a forward observation group that consisted of six Ukrainian soldiers. On 17 February, shortly after the start of their watch, they came under heavy fire. A tank began hammering their position.
@BBC.news.com
No guts, no glory.
They hold the line.