Russian MP-commander survives Grad hit in SVO zone

Russian deputy of the Kurgan city council Ilya Ponomarev survived after a Grad MLRS shell hit a dugout in the special military operation (SVO) zone. He told Ura.ru about this.

The politician took part in battles near Soledar and Bakhmut, commanded a reconnaissance group, and then headed a sabotage and reconnaissance group (DRG). During a three-day assault on one of the positions, he was wounded in both shoulders and had a broken wrist. His fellow soldiers sent him to a dugout to recuperate. Twenty minutes later, the shelter was hit.

"I just yawned, stretched - and at that moment it came flying. A shell landed right on our dugout. The concrete slab that was the ceiling broke in half. It fell, covering me with earth. Only my shattered hand was sticking out," Ponomarev shared.

His fellow soldiers thought he had not survived and retreated. The soldier woke up to find himself covered in earth and suffocating. After that, a fire started in the dugout. The soldier barely managed to escape from under the rubble and crawled towards the Russian positions.

According to the soldier, his comrades thought that the enemy was approaching them and were going to open fire, but they recognized their man by his arafatka. After returning, Ponomarev's group held its positions for another 12 hours, despite losses.

Earlier, the Tatarstan parliament wanted to allow special military operation fighters to run for deputies directly from the front line. The republic's parliamentarians proposed making the corresponding changes to the law.