What happened on the administrative border with Crimea the day before the war: testimony of a border guard from Chongar

What happened at Chongar checkpoint.

Oleksiy Ruzhynenko is a border guard, military officer. He served at the Chongar checkpoint, which is on the administrative border with occupied Crimea and was one of the first to see the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the night of February 23-24, 2022, he was on duty. He was captured and spent 2 years and 4 months in prisons. In the interview “Crimea. Realiy” Oleksiy said that he noticed the first clear signals of an impending invasion on February 23.

“Somewhere in the afternoon, people were already arriving, that is, they were going to Ukraine from the territory of Crimea, and they said that there some troops were being drawn up closer to the border. Yes, we, in principle, transferred to the department. They said: “Everything is fine, they are studying, nothing so terrible.” Then closer to 10 p.m., to 11 p.m., maybe I don't remember, the lights went out. All the same, for some time, an hour, maybe no more, people were still leaving there…