I am a Ballroom Dancer Who’s Now a Ukrainian Particular Ops Machine Gunner

That is as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Serhii Nazarenko, a 31-year-old Kyiv resident who taught ballroom dancing for 11 years earlier than the struggle. He’s now an officer and machine gunner of the NGU’s elite Omega group.

The dialog has been edited for size and readability.

I used to be unsleeping after I misplaced my leg. We have been in Luhansk, and my squad was ordered to assault a Russian place within the treelines.

All I might see was the soil flying as I toppled over. Then I bear in mind seeing my commander frozen, shock in his eyes, as I lay on the bottom.

Three seconds later, he began shouting. I might stepped on a land mine.

“Apply your tourniquet in your leg,” he yelled. Impassive, I dug my tourniquet out of my vest and tied it round my proper leg.

Or what was left of it. By the point we retreated and I used to be evacuated to the hospital, I knew that nearly the whole lot beneath my proper knee was gone.

We have been extremely fortunate. Everybody else in my squad was protected and with no accidents, and we returned residence that day.

I have been a part of the Ukrainian Nationwide Guard’s Omega group since early 2024. As particular forces, we’re deployed to help completely different brigades alongside the entrance strains, conducting rescue missions, reconnaissance, and raids.

As a machine gunner, my job was to offer suppressive hearth and typically lead parts of an assault with mild machine weapons such because the Soviet PKM or NATO-standard M240.

That was till October, after I was despatched again to Kyiv, my hometown, to get well from my leg harm.

Earlier than I fought the Russians, I danced

I by no means thought I might be part of the navy. Earlier than Russia invaded in 2022, I used to be a gross sales relations supervisor for a customer support firm headquartered in Arizona.

Whereas working full-time, I additionally taught ballroom dancing — a craft I might been pursuing since my mom took me for classes after I was 12.

For over 10 years, I carried out onstage and educated college students at a dance college in Kyiv. In 2021, I used to be additionally a choreographer for the Ukrainian model of “Dancing with the Stars.”

When Russia invaded my nation in 2022, I joined Ukraine’s Nationwide Guard. Our first mission was to defend Hostomel as Russian paratroopers tried to take the airfields, although I used to be on the rear as a result of I used to be new.

Then, we have been assigned to assault the notorious Russian column of armored automobiles caught on the street to Kyiv.

After the Russians retreated, I used to be largely despatched to patrol areas that Ukraine had already retaken, preserving the peace in cities below our management.

I felt like I might do extra. I stored considering that I hadn’t executed my job for my nation but, so I utilized to Omega.

The method to affix took a number of weeks. I needed to apply via a Google Kind, take part in an interview, and take a bodily take a look at.

Preventing in Ukraine’s particular forces

Omega accepts members from many walks of life, however it’s selective. A very powerful ability they appeared for was my capability to study shortly. I had some fight expertise, however I needed to be proficient in numerous weapons past my standard-issue assault rifle, equivalent to machine weapons and grenade launchers.

I spent about six weeks coaching with Omega and integrating into my unit. You may prepare for so long as you want, however the true fight scenario is if you present your actual capacity to combat. Your greatest take a look at is the entrance line.

A key a part of being an Omega member is having the ability to adapt. Every day, you are studying new details about your tools, about weapons, about ways, about technique, about drones, about reconnaissance.

My deployments with Omega have been completely different from my time defending cities within the rear. We rotated with different Omega troopers on the entrance line, typically preventing in shut contact with the enemy, like clearing multistory condominium buildings, ground by ground, in Zaporizhzhia.

Battle is nothing like in video video games or Hollywood. It is messy. Out of all my missions, one left the deepest impression. We have been despatched to assist the crew of an armored car that got here below Russian mortar hearth. Regardless that we warned them to attend for us, they bought out of their car to restore it, and a mortar spherical struck them.

One in all them died, and we have been pressured to alter our mission to concentrate on evacuating the wounded.

We see on daily basis how warfare is altering. Regardless that I am within the particular forces, not the whole lot relies on your ability. When a drone involves assault you, you cover. It does not matter who you might be — the drone or mortar simply hits you, and that is it.

The largest stress in Omega is to be dependable to your teammates, so everyone knows we will depend upon one another. Once I stepped on the land mine and misplaced my leg, my first thought was: “I am the unhealthy particular person as a result of I did not do my job. Now we’ve got to return due to me.”

Returning to the struggle after shedding a leg

After October, I used to be given a prosthetic leg, and now I have been again at my unit for the final three weeks.

To date, I am serving to out with public occasions and different duties away from fight, whereas ready for my sports activities prosthetic in order that I can begin coaching to run once more and hopefully combat sooner or later.

When the struggle is over, we’ll have to rebuild Ukraine’s cultural scene. So lots of our dancers and artists have died. Shedding my leg will severely damage my dancing capacity, as a result of though I’ve a prosthetic leg, I’ve misplaced my proper foot.

Nonetheless, if given a selection, I might do all of it once more: Becoming a member of the Nationwide Guard in 2022 after which Omega in 2024. I do know why I am doing my job, for my household and homeland; I’ve a spouse and a five-year-old daughter in Kyiv.

For now, we will not take into consideration dancing when our nation’s kids are dying. However I need to return to the ballroom when the preventing is finished.

A minimum of, I am going to attempt. Individuals will most likely be capable to inform that I am carrying prosthetics, however I nonetheless need to carry out. Hopefully, will probably be a fantastic dance.