The 52-year-old volunteer from the battalion “Aydar” Sergei Nikonenko with the call sign “Gray-hair” was buried in Mirgorod, Poltava region. For his head the militants were willing to pay almost half a million dollars.

Pink, red, yellow, white… Carnations and roses … Underfoot.  In the dirty snow slush. Rallied with a shared grief the crowd of thousands followed after the coffin, trampled these living flowers, which paved the last road of the Hero.

Pain and tears.  Even strong men in camouflage with machine guns at the ready cry; they all came from Trehizbenki for their friend’s last journey.  All the sorrow and grief of loss they work off with a powerful farewell volley into the air from their weapons.  In a quiet resort Mirgorod, in the rear, those  sounds cut the town-dwellers’ ear. Their reflex shows the anxiety in their hearts.

In spite of destroying the enemy roadblock at night together with his four colleagues, “Grey” didn’t even tell about it to his commander.

For the head of 52-year-old Sergei Nikonenko from Mirgorod militants were willing to pay 450 thousand dollars. “Aydar” fighters themselves had realized much earlier that “Grey-hair”, who joined them last summer, was priceless. One worth a battalion. That’s why they protected him as best as they could. They held him at the base for a long time. Nikonenko was a gifted fire-spotter. With the help of the Internet and the tablet or in an old fashioned way – with the help of a topographical map, with absolute precision, he figured the enemy positions. On his information our artillery destroyed large enemy forces.  And militants started hunting for “Gray.”

But sitting in the shelter, in the rear was not for Sergei. He was eager to fight.

-Sergei was able to do everything perfectly, – says his Commander with the call sign “Yegor”, – When he moved to the Intelligence Detachment, on the part of the front where we worked there were Chechens and Kadyrov militants. And the morale of the young guys went down. “The enemy must be destroyed hard, fast and efficient!”- with a smile on his face instructed “Grey” young soldiers, radiating optimism. As a senior of the Intelligence Group Sergei included inexperienced soldiers into his group in order to show them how to act in a real situation.  Sometimes they fell into an ambush, but out of all military operations – and there were at least fifteen of them – he could lead out all his subordinates alive.  That’s why co-workers were not afraid to go to go to explore with “Grey”, they even asked to take them with him. To achieve perfection of the assignment he many times was creeping together with the youth.  He complained to his closest friends that his feet were killing him; however he never made any concessions to himself.

Sergey often ventured to destroy as many as possible of our enemies. One night, – friends tell, – he, along with four soldiers, just as brave as himself, made a foray into enemy territory, and as melee fighters destroyed the checkpoint under Trehizbenka. The commander learned about it only from the post in the Internet. Although as naturally there was no evidence about avengers.  “Was that you who had done this?” – asked the Commander.  In response Sergei smiled.

Nikonenko was born a warrior.  He didn’t get a chance to become a professional military man – because of the weak health he was not accepted into Suvorov Military School.  And in adulthood, about ten years ago, the man was in a terrible car accident. A fracture of the spine in two places and a traumatic brain injury saw him bedridden. But this didn’t make him disabled!  With enormous effort Sergei first learned to walk… on his hands. Then with crutches, then with a stick. Only the swinging gait reminded  about his experience.  Those people who did not know about it, thought he was a former sailor.

While he suffers from terrible headaches, Sergei just clutched his head with his hands and pin teeth. To persuade him to take the pill was impossible. “I’m a man, I have to endure everything!” – usually Sergei refused  medical aid.

Tests for Sergei started in his childhood. His father left them at his early age. He didn’t want to be a burden for his grandparents. He served himself without any help:  warmed up his house, cooked and washed clothes…   Hardly survived in winter.  And before the new school year started he asked them to take him to a boarding-school. He visited his relatives only for holidays.  His grandfather, whom Sergei was proud of all his life, and who was The World War II veteran, never spoiled the boy. He helped his other grandchildren with money, but to Sergei he told: “You are persistent, you can get everything yourself”.

He tried to prove to himself and others that he was not lacking in any abilities. He graduated from University, and worked on the North of Russia for many years as a geological engineer – leaded a group of professional searches for oil and gas.  These skills became useful for him later in the war when it was necessary to calculate the enemy positions.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he lost his work, and started to run his own business. By renting a pond he started to breed fish in it. He salted and smoked it in large quantities.  Later he started pig-breeding. Recently he had 70 pigs on his farm. Despite constant problems with health as a result of the accident, as well as a stroke and heart attack, he carried heavy bags with food for his animals.

People who were close to Segei were surprised how hard work didn’t make his soul rough. He could be admired with a flower saying” “What a beauty!” For a long time he could view a mushroom or a berry, saying: “Is it possible that nature has created this!”

“Going for the first time to the Luhansk region as a volunteer, father knew that he would be in the volunteer corps to fight”

Sergei Nikonenko was involved in volunteer activities as soon as the 80th airmobile brigade from Yavoriy, Lviv region, started to equip military checkpoints at the strategically important military airfield next to Mirgorod. Except for the APCs and automatic guns the guys did not have anything. Local people began to feed them, provide firewood, “stove”, warm clothes, water.

– I just quit work in Poltava and returned home – says the 21-year-old daughter of Sergei Bogdana Nikonenko. I had plenty of free time so I jumped into father’s van and we toured checkpoints together. We delivered products to soldiers and went back to gather new provision. Father’s friends helped a lot but he himself put much into this activity. And as soon as the town of Schastiye was freed, father went there with humanitarian aid. Even then he had already a backpack with his personal stuff – he wanted to stay with the volunteer corps “Aydar”. But at that base where he conducted negotiations, he was told to  take a special pre-course. Father was a little angry as they doubted his necessity to be on the front.  But he had excellent knowledge of military art. I remember how he was proud to shoot th wild boar in the ear! I was 5 years old when he started to teach me to shoot.

As any man Serge Nikonenko dreamt about a son. However when his second daughter was born he left this idea.  His little daughter Bogdana was raised as a boy. He bought her a punching bag, took her to box, and took her to hunt. The girl grew up just like her father – strong and fearless. And a patriot like him.

– In two weeks I, my dad and the Chairman of the district Council Anatoly Karban again went into a hot spot with humanitarian aid  – continues Bogdan. – This time father succeeded and was taken as an artillery fire spotter. I asked him to let me say with him but he refused telling me and Anatoly Karban to take the car and go back to Mirgorod. I was a little upset. I came back to my town for a while. I gathered humanitarian aid for our soldiers and asked Anatoly Karban to give me a document saying that I am a volunteer so not to have problems at the checkpoints. I got into a car which my father left for me and went alone towards known direction.

In six months they came back home together. Daughter had to accompany her father home in a van with a sign “Cargo 200”.

At the cost of his life Sergei Nikonenko saved from certain death nearly three dozen of combats. 

– When father found out about my decision to stay close to the front, he just shrugged his shoulders: “What can I do?” – says the girl sadly smiling. I got a job on the basis of “Aydar” – first as a cook, and later moved to the sanitary division. Before I turned 16 I was afraid of blood and injections   But then my fear suddenly disappeared. Anyway, my hands do not shake when bandage lacerations, broken head or do intramuscular injections.

The distance between me and my father was about sixty kilometers. Each of us was doing our own job. Sometimes we accidentally met with him in Schatie. But more often we met in the line of fire.  – I went to visit him. Of course I asked him to take me to the battle – the guys who are located at checkpoints under Mirgorod taught me to shoot from combat weapon. But who would let me go to the front?

Bogdana was the first to know about her loved father death. At the time when her father was deadly wounded, Bogdana had a night dream as if her father badly hurt was brought to her medical unit and she started to scream at some young boy who incorrectly applied a tourniquet to her father. She started to bandage her father’s wound herself. But the doctors came and took him away.  Exactly at that moment the girl was woken up and told that her father was really injured.

-On the way from school, where “Aydar” got on the line of fire, to the hospital in Schastie he died – Bogdana tries not to cry. – With the wound which he got it was impossible to survive. The blast damaged his internal organs, in addition, smashing his leg in two places and his hand. I was told that the enemy has applied new shells which burned out two concrete slabs and exploded inside. Father apparently heard shots, first rushed to his grenade and was hit by that shell. Having taken all the hit, he closed ammunition lying around with his body. Thus he saved about three dozen colleagues. After all, if the ammunition exploded nobody would survive.

The daughter of the killed fighter told that they were dreaming to get home for a couple of days just before the New Year, but their dreams did not come true. As the car loaded the coffin from the morgue, it broke down. They changed the car, and almost immediately it had to be repaired – because the muffler fell off. However, to drive further was almost impossible because of the thick fog. Then the movement was complicated with snow, turning into the shower rain.

-It was as if father wanted to say from the Heaven “It’s too early for me to leave, I have not fought  enough” –said Bogdana. – But we will do it for him! May God bless his death as well as the other patriots’ death who gave their lives for the independence of Ukraine not to be in vain.

21 years old Bogdana is after her father. At the funeral she told that she feels herself needed at the front and is going back there. (photo of the author)

One week before his tragic death, Sergei Nikonenko cut his pigtail, which he had for 15 years – it was impossible to look after long hair at the front. Caressing his short hair he gave a promise to his friends: “If I come home I will not cut my hair for another 30 years”.

He returned a Hero. And Heroes do not die. Thousands of his countrymen shouted in his honor, knelt before his coffin, buried in flowers …

Photo in the title is taken from the family album

Written by Anna Volkova, Poltava

Translated by Marina Kharkova

Original fakty.ua