Matsko: Wounded soldiers at the TRC are trying to obtain disability status to avoid being issued draft notices

The failures in mobilization were allowed by the country’s political leadership, yet all the accusations fall on the TRSSC.

This was stated in an interview with “Glavcom” by Senior Soldier Oleksandr Matsko, who fought on the “zero” line for seven years as part of the 95th Brigade and sustained serious injuries in the spring of 2022, and was spat on by fitness trainer Roman Zavoloka.

“Currently, the police very rarely detain those who attack TRSSC soldiers or slander them unjustifiably. – Now all accusations fall on the TRSSC. And it’s unfair,” he says.

At the same time, Matsko acknowledges that there are also “excesses” in military commissariats. “I’ll tell you about this after the war, okay? But honestly, there is no such thing as bending hands and forcibly throwing into vans in the Poltava TRSSC, at least it didn’t happen while I was serving there. Grabbing by the arms when someone is trying to run away or shouting – yes, that happens, but packing into vans did not. It seems to me that those videos of ‘vanning’ went viral, and there is much less of that in reality than shown on social media,” he says.

Matsko recently passed a military medical commission, received disability status, and was discharged. He assures that wounded front-line soldiers serving in the TRSSC are also trying to obtain disability status and either resign or transfer to other rear units just to avoid handing out summonses.

The second reason for resigning from service in the TRSSC, apart from moral pressure, he mentions is the salary, as it is difficult to support a family on 20,000 UAH.

Let’s recall that Oleksandr Matsko has been fighting since 2015. He was a scout and driver in the 95th Brigade. During the battles for Izyum in the spring of 2022, Oleksandr’s vehicle hit a mine, and the soldier sustained a traumatic brain injury and injuries to both legs, with doctors removing 52 shards in the hospital. Consequently, Matsko spent almost a year in treatment, and another half a year walking with a cane.

After prolonged rehabilitation, he was granted second-group disability status and was transferred from a combat unit to serve in a military commissariat.

Before donning a military uniform, Matsko worked as an industrial climber, building mobile communication towers and possessing electrician skills; however, after the injury, these professions became beyond his capabilities: he cannot work at heights or perform mobile work, and loud noises, such as the operation of a grinder, cause him sharp headaches. Only driving remains an option.

After being discharged, he moved to Germany, where his wife and 10-year-old son have been since the beginning of the war, and he is now volunteering by driving vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Europe to Ukraine.

The incident that occurred between Oleksandr Matsko and the Poltava fitness trainer and draft dodger in August 2023 gained significant resonance and became the first incident of blatant public disrespect towards TRSSC workers since the start of the large-scale war (at least the first recorded on video): a young man publicly spat at the war veteran, accused him of killing Russians, and mocked the soldier’s trembling hands, even though he explained it was due to concussion.

It was after this conflict that a decision was made that across the country, patrol police officers would accompany TRSSC servicemen on raids to deliver summonses.