‘I Have Seen Hell, and the Name of It is “Krynky” — Fighters Who Held the Village on the Left Bank and Disappeared There

The operation to occupy positions and expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro River by Ukrainian forces lasted from mid-October 2023 to July 2024 .

The fighting was mainly for the village of Krynky , the only one where the defence forces managed to gain a foothold.

Hundreds of Ukrainian families received reports that their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers had gone missing.

Oleh Kostov, 33 , volunteered to fight in the 18th Battalion of the 35th Marine Brigade .

On 16 April , he called and said that he would have a combat mission on the left bank of the Dnipro River .

He called his mother on 2 April this year and said: Mum , I’m being sent to a wild duck’ ( zero position), mum, mum, I don’t want to say anything, but maybe I won't come back’ Since then, there has been no contact with him.

Some say they saw his body, others say there was a shelling, we can't find out what really happened.

Ukrainian marines, like no other, showed the greatest heroism and resilience in holding this piece of land on the left bank of the Dnipro .

788 men are reported as officially missing there between October 2023 and the end of June 2024 .

At the same time, the number of dead soldiers who were taken out of the village and eventually buried is much smaller — 262 defenders.