THE noble Ukrainian soldier who praised his killer as “the best fighter in the world” with his dying breath, as caught on camera, has been identified.
A savage knife fight between two soldiers emerged last week in point-of-view footage, with the Ukrainian fighter eventually submitting, bidding goodbye to his mother and asking to die in peace.
Dmytro Maslovsky, 30, was the soldier whose final fight was filmed on his helmet cameraEast2West
Andrey Grigoriev was the Russian fighter who clashed with Maslovsky and showed compassion at the endEast2West
East2WestNew aerial drone footage shows the bloody hand-to-hand contest[/caption]
The gallant warrior has been identified as Dmytro Maslovsky, 30, from Odessa, southern Ukraine.
The Russian rival was also later named as Andrey Grigoriev and interviewed.
More horrific footage of the clash has since emerged from an overhead drone which captured the grisly fight and ensuing interaction.
The aerial view shows the two men grappling on the ground, their faces and hands horribly bloodied, before Grigoriev sits back.
It also shows the moment Maslovsky detonated his grenade to finish himself off.
Grigoriev later revealed that the blast only wounded the Ukrainian further, so he walked back and shot the dying man to put him out of his misery.
In an interview the Russian said: “When we got into the hand-to-hand fight, we both understood, he understood, too, I guess – there’s only one man out of this situation.
“When we went into the hand-to-hand, we both knew that one of us had to die.”
The original video filmed from a helmet-mounted camera is an arresting insight into the brutality of warfare, and particularly the lethal intimacy of close combat.
After attempting to shoot each other in a game of cat and mouse, the two soldiers find themselves tussling hand-to-hand.
They lock bodies and slash at each other desperately as the primitive urge to survive takes over.
Maslovsky shouts at the Russian: “You came to invade my homeland.”
The footage, and Maslovsky’s life, ends with a very poignant scene.
Grigoriev is kneeling over the fatally injured Ukrainian who says: “That’s it, Mum, goodbye.
“You cut my whole body open.
“Let me catch my breath a little.
“It hurts a lot.
“Let me go quietly.
“Don’t touch me [any more], stop.
“Let me die.
“Don’t touch me, let me die.
East2WestThe dying words of the Ukrainian were to praise his final foe[/caption]
East2WestThe fight began with both soldiers firing at each other at close range before the Russian got close enough to pull out his blade[/caption]
East2WestMaslovsky shouted “You came to invade my homeland” as he ran towards the Russian[/caption]
“Please go away.”
“I want to die myself, thank you.”
Then, in a mark of respect for his foe, his dying words: “You were the best fighter in the world.
Grigoriev granted the wish by backing off and later expressed his respect for the fallen Maslovsky.
He reflected on the poignancy of a high-tech war reverting to man-to-man combat at the deadly end.
Grigoriev – from Russia’s coldest region, Yakutia – said in an interview that he too had been injured in the fight.
“I was bleeding from here, I was bleeding from here,” he said on video.
He spoke of the remarkable mutual respect between the fighters despite such a savage clash moments earlier.
“He realised he couldn’t do anything.
“He asked me and said ‘let me say goodbye to the sky, let me say goodbye to my mum’,” said the Russian.
“‘You’ve already killed me,’ he said.
“He said: ‘You’re the best fighter in the world, thank you.’
“When I let him go, he says ‘thank you’.
“Since childhood, we Russians and Yakuts have been taught that in any situation you must remain a human being.
The Russian, who lost part of an ear in the knife fight, said: “I had a combat mission to plant a flag there.”
“My comrade-in-arms and I were riding motorcycles together.
“When we entered, we were supposed to plant the flag and stand to show that the Russians had entered.
“Yes, we were supposed to raise the flag, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
The Ukrainian fighter realised he was defeated and asked to be left alone to die
The moment Maslovsky detonated his grenade, as caught on camera by a drone
“As we were riding, they attacked us with a drone, and our motorcycle exploded.
“We continued on foot, and they started attacking us again.
“My friend immediately fell there, unfortunately [killed].
“I rolled back again, and there was a stone shed.
“A [Ukrainian soldier, Maslovsky] ran up and started talking to me.
“At that moment, I already knew for sure that I wouldn’t surrender, because in our faith, it’s clear that it’s better not to surrender.
“In such a situation, it would be better to take one or several Ukrainians with me.
“It turned out he was deliberately stalling for time so the drone could arrive.
“The drone explosion concussed me, and at the same time, he began attacking the door.
“I saw him running towards me, and I met him with a shot.
“I thought, at such close range, I couldn’t miss.
“Then I followed him.”
The savage knife fight followed. resulting in Maskovsky’s death, Grigoriev said.
East2WestDmytro Maslovsky was from Odessa, southern Ukraine[/caption]
East2WestGrigoriev gave an interview after leaving the front line amid calls for him to be rewarded for his bravery[/caption]
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