Kathrine Frich
For months, shelling shook their position day and night. Relief was promised again and again, but never came.
When help finally arrived, the fog was the only shield they had left.
Heroes of war
Their names are Oleksandr Aliksieienko and Oleksandr Tishaiev. A soldier and his sergeant, now celebrated as national heroes.
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded them the Cross of Merit, Ukraine’s highest military honor, after their extraordinary stand against Russian forces.
“Both belong to the Territorial Defense Forces. Both are ordinary Ukrainians who became an example of superhuman endurance and military brotherhood,” said Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the president’s office.
Days without end
The pair fought in the Orikhiv sector, near Zaporijjia, one of the most contested zones on the southern front.
According to the defense news site Militarnyi, they defended their post continuously from May to October, 165 days without relief.
They carried out reconnaissance missions, targeted enemy infantry, and held their ground while Russian bombardments pounded the area.
Commanders attempted to rotate them more than 30 times, Militarnyi reported, but constant shelling made every attempt impossible.
Only at the end of October, under a dense fog, could they finally be withdrawn.
The long retreat
The extraction point lay 12 kilometers from their position. Aliksieienko, badly wounded, managed the distance on foot with Tishaiev’s help.
Both were later hospitalized, their survival described by local media as a miracle of endurance.
Their story spread quickly through Ukrainian outlets, turning them into symbols of resistance and sacrifice. In a war that has tested the nation’s spirit, their perseverance struck a deep chord.
Sources: Militarnyi, Ukrainian media reports, L’Independent.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, who may have used AI in the preparation
