‘Heroic’ Ukrainian soldier blows himself up with bridge to stop Russian invaders

His sacrifice 'significantly slowed down' Russian forces

A Ukrainian soldier is in line to receive a state military award after he sacrificed himself to stop advancing Russian tanks and soldiers.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Vitaliy Skakun Volodymyrovych had been tasked with setting up explosives on the Henichesk Bridge near Crimea to block the route of Russian forces.

However when he realised he would not be able to get off the bridge in time to blow it up before Russian troops crossed, he decided to sacrifice himself and trigger the explosives whilst he was still on it.

His efforts "significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense," according to a post from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1497135949180026881

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared the tragic story on their Facebook page. In a post the department wrote: "On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people give away to the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the hardest places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean intersection, where one of the first enemies met a separate marine battalion.

"In order to stop the promotion of the tank column, a decision was made to overthrow the Geniche Car Bridge.