'I Risked It All': Last Interview With Volat Battalion Commander Ivan 'Brest'

The battalion commander of the Kalinovsky Regiment died heroically near Lysychansk.

The Kastus Kalinouski Regiment reported that the commander of Volat Battalion Ivan 'Brest' died on June 26 in fights near Lysychansk.

The day before his death, Radio Svaboda talked to a Belarusian volunteer.

To catch Ivan 'Brest' Marchuk for an interview was a difficult task. He was in a combat zone all the time. His comrades-in-arms said that the war was the 'Brest's' life.

'Brest' was the battalion commander but always went into the battle first, although the colleagues persuaded him not to do this. He could also skip the last mission and instead deal with the regiment's internal issues. But 'Brest' preferred to go. Ivan was 28 years old.

This interview was recorded in excerpts the day before Ivan's death. Forty minutes for a full-fledged conversation was impossible to find. 'Brest' managed to answer only some of the questions, he promised to answer the rest when he returned from the combat mission.

— Ivan, tell us a little about yourself. Where were you born, where did you study, and what did you do in Belarus?

— I am from Brest. At first, I studied at a school with a language bias, but then my parents realized that I had the ability for a physical and mathematical profile, so they transferred me to the appropriate school. Later, in order to develop my knowledge, I entered the general education lyceum, in a class with a physical and mathematical bias. After graduating from school, I entered the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics with a degree in Communications Engineering. I studied there for two years. Why two? Because already in the first year I clearly realized that this was not for me. I have always been led by the spirit of adventurism, and I also had a heightened sense of justice. My parents told me that such a feeling would not lead to good and that it was better to remain silent. I can't be silent (he laughs). Now everything comes to its logical conclusion, so I am in Ukraine, where I risked it all.

— Earlier in an interview, you said that you have been in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone since 2015. Why did we go there?

— How could I not go? Even then it was clear what it would lead to. We had hopes that it would not grow into something full-scale. But even then, participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation was a noble deed to protect the brothers from illegal aggression. Even then it was clear that Russia was trying to establish an incomprehensible regime in those territories of lawlessness.

— Aliaksei 'Psycholog' and Yuri 'Khmel' said that they remember absolutely all the operations in which they participated. I want to ask you what you remember most from the time of the Anti-Terrorist Operation?

— Maybe I'm a more sentimental person, so touching moments are best captured in my memory, from which everything is torn inside, causing an incredible surge of emotions. You know, that sincere moment, the connection between the people, when emotions simply overfill you. There are no such moments in everyday life. These are moments of mental intimacy between people. These moments... Damn, it's very hard... Most of all, when I arrived in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone, I was fascinated and surprised by how people are ready to sacrifice themselves for their country, without demanding anything in return. People helped each other. A stranger is always ready to help you, knowing that you are going to the front line. And on the front line, no one spares anything, shares anything.

— What is the difference between today's war and the Anti-Terrorist Operation?

— The scale is completely different. No explosions around and simultaneous operation of artillery, aviation, tanks and infantry. The enemy's level is completely different now.

— Ivan, were you really in the French Foreign Legion? What training did they give you?

— I was accepted there at the age of 19. Then I decided to take a chance. During my summer holidays at the university, I went to France on a regular tourist voucher. I thought about it a lot, it was a balanced decision. I had this dream for two years. I realized that being an engineer is not for me and I want to be a soldier. In Paris, I went straight to the recruiting station, where I had to go through many trials and selections. They accepted me in two weeks. I had been attending a bootcamp for four months and then I joined a fighting regiment. The training was excellent, now it is very noticeable. It helps me to save the lives of children and to act as professionally as possible.

Recall that not only Ivan 'Brest' has died since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but seven more Belarusian volunteers have also died. Ilia 'Litvin' Hrenau, Aliaksei 'Tur' Skoblia, Dzmitser 'Terror' Apanasovich, Dzmitser 'Hans' Rubasheuski, Kanstantsin 'Phoenix' Dubaylo and Pavel 'Volat'.