Ukrainian soldier who sacrificed himself to blow up bridge halting Russian advance hailed as hero

On Friday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that a soldier blew himself up on a bridge to stop Russian soldiers trying to advance.

Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Skakun was an engineer for a battalion of marines on the Crimean isthmus, where Russian tanks and military forces began to advance into Ukraine.

The marines decided to blow up the Genichesky Bridge to stop the invasion, a task for which Skakun volunteered despite being in a different battalion.

Skakun placed mines on the bridge and told his fellow soldiers that he was blowing up the bridge. The bridge blew up before Skakun was able to run away, and he died in the explosion.

“His heroic deed significantly slowed the advance of the enemy, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organize the defense,” wrote the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of Skakun in a Facebook post.

Skakun’s death allowed the rest of the soldiers to prepare for the oncoming Russians and saved the Ukrainian military time and ammunition.

“Our brother was killed. His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organise the defence,” the statement said.

“Russian invaders, know, under your feet the earth will burn! We will fight as long as we live! And as long as we are alive we will fight!” it added.

Military commanders said they planned to give Volodymyrovych a posthumous award for his “heroic act.”

More than 130 Ukrainian soldiers were killed battling Russian invaders on the first day of fighting.