His wife threw a scandal, but he still went to the trenches. The story of a Belarusian who ended up at war due to debts and fear of losing his home

Dmitry Vishnevsky was born in 1978 in Belarus. For the last eight years, he ran his own business in the woodworking industry. Things were going well: 90% of the products were sold for export to Poland and Lithuania. In 2020, the man leased two logging trucks, but after sanctions were introduced, the sales market collapsed, and it became impossible to pay the bills.

"Leasing companies charged me a debt – almost $50 thousand. I couldn't pay it off. They confiscated the vehicles and seized all the property that was with the company," Dmitry recalls.

According to him, it was not possible to reorient to the local market, and lawyers began to threaten to seize even his personal dwelling.

"I started looking for money. I couldn't find it anywhere. Then I was told that there was a quick way to earn money. To sign a contract," says the unfortunate businessman.

On the "Forces of Russia" website, Dmitry saw a phone number and contacted a man named Svyatoslav via Telegram. He promised that the contract would help resolve all financial issues.

Dmitry's wife was strongly against it; a serious scandal occurred at home, but the man had already made his decision.

On January 21, 2024, he arrived in Moscow. At the reception point on Yablochkina Street, he was refused due to the lack of a residence permit, so his "curator" sent him to Cheboksary (Chuvashia).

As the man recalls, there, the medical commission was formally completed in half an hour. On February 4, Vishnevsky signed a one-year contract. He says that before this, he sent the document to his wife so that she could read it carefully with a lawyer.

"I understood that I was going to war, but I was told that I hadn't even done urgent service, that it wouldn't be on the line of contact, that I would be somewhere far from the front," Dmitry explains.

Through Rostov – to Donetsk region

After signing the contract, the recruits were taken by bus to Rostov Oblast, and from there – closer to the border of Luhansk Oblast.

For a month, Dmitry and nine other people were trained to perform tasks as part of a motor group. They were taught extreme ATV driving, medicine, topography, and shooting. After that, they were supposed to drive ATVs to positions.

On March 11, they were sent to the area of the village of Netaylove, and then to Alekseevka. From there, groups took turns trying to break through to Novopavlivka.

The first group, according to Dmitry, overturned on an ATV and waited in a dugout. The second, he claims, was completely destroyed.

Dmitry's group of six people drove out on two ATVs and soon hit an anti-personnel mine, after which they walked to a tank ditch.

According to the man, they remained in the same dugout until April 2, after which they received an order to occupy house 51 in Novopavlivka.

Almost a month in the basement

On April 2, the group entrenched themselves in house No. 51 in Novopavlivka. They stayed there for 27 days under constant drone attacks.

"Once a day we would get in touch. There were no more instructions. We just reported on our condition," the contract soldier recalls.

During this time, the house was repeatedly attacked by drones. During one of the attacks, he suffered his first concussion, then a second.

"After the second concussion, I lost my sight for about 15-20 minutes. I couldn't see anything at all. Then it recovered by about 50%, and gradually almost completely recovered within a month," he says.

Then the group received an order to move to house No. 50 on the same street, which, according to him, was four or five houses away from No. 51. The soldiers stayed in this house for two weeks.

On May 12, according to Dmitry, their position began to be intensively attacked by drones. When it became impossible to stay there, the group moved to another basement. However, it also came under attack.

"We were completely buried. The basement completely collapsed, and we were covered with earth. How we survived – I don't know," the man says.

They only managed to get out from under the rubble around three in the afternoon. After that, they returned to house No. 51 and contacted command.

"I reported that two were concussed, and one's right arm was no longer working. I said that we needed to do something and retreat. We were told that there was no possibility to retreat. 'Stay there. Medicines, everything necessary, and bandages will be sent to you.'"

According to Dmitry, he nursed his wounded comrade himself. After this, the group remained in house No. 51 for another four or five days. When the shelling resumed, they moved to building No. 72, where they stayed until May 27, when the house was destroyed in a new drone attack.

Павялічыць

Two weeks in the bathhouse

"When the bombing stopped, I heard someone hammering. The guy was wounded, he couldn't walk anymore – his leg was shattered. I went there to ask for help," Dmitry recalls.

According to him, local residents agreed to help them. These were an elderly husband and wife – the woman, he says, was about 80 years old – as well as their 51-year-old son. They agreed to hide the soldiers in the bathhouse and told no one about them. For two weeks, the hosts fed them three times a day and helped them survive.

Dmitry says that conversations with the hosts were mainly about faith.

"It was all mostly about God. They are very devout Orthodox."

According to him, in house No. 72, from where they managed to escape, the bodies of two of their comrades remained – a 25-year-old wounded guy and a 38-year-old man.

Later, the hostess of the house, whom he calls Aunt Vera, said that the bodies of the deceased had already been "dug up and were being dragged away by dogs."

The end of the story turned out to be unexpected. Dmitry decided to contact his own by radio.

"I ran out of cigarettes, well, and I wanted some tea, some coffee. That's what I asked for. (...) Around 6:00 AM, a package landed on the road. And around 10:00 AM, four Ukrainian soldiers arrived," Dmitry recounts.

The package remained lying on the road because reconnaissance drones prevented them from picking it up.

So, on June 14, Dmitry Vishnevsky was captured. According to him, two other soldiers were captured with him: his comrade from the motor group and a soldier from another unit who later joined them in Novopavlivka. According to Dmitry, out of his motor group of ten people, only he and this comrade survived.

At the time of the interview, the man was still in the combat zone.

"I hope that they will still exchange me. And they will exchange me not to Russia, but to Belarus," Dmitry expressed hope in a conversation with his wife.

"Well, that's probably unlikely," replied the woman, who looks at the situation more realistically.

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