One year in the TRO and daily work on the roads of Kyiv
Serhiy Lytvyn works as a truck driver-forwarder in Kyiv. Before the full-scale invasion, his work was familiar for this profession: routes, deliveries, responsibility for cargo and deadlines. But since February 2022, this “habit” changed in one day — and it was in these conditions that his experience as a driver and a person accustomed to acting in real time manifested itself.
In the first days of the full-scale invasion, Serhiy actually returned to what he did best — working with transport. Food supplies began to be disrupted in Kyiv and the region, and he joined transportation between Kyiv and Boryspil. These were constant flights in conditions when everything changed every day, and the main task was to ensure the delivery of the most necessary things.
In parallel, he joined the territorial defense. He was involved in duty at posts and perimeter control. The format was simple and at the same time exhausting: rotating shifts, night shifts, constant concentration on what was happening around. Without unnecessary dynamics, but with constant attention and responsibility for his area of work.
In this experience, what was important for Serhiy was not that he was doing something fundamentally new, but how the skills he had already acquired during his life worked. The experience of a driver and a forwarder, the ability to navigate the road, make decisions quickly, not to lose concentration during long shifts - all this directly formed the basis of his work on duty. According to him, in difficult situations there is not always time for long reflections - experience and the habit of acting work.
He separately emphasizes that it was the practical side of the service and work at that time that showed the value of basic professional skills. Where it was necessary to organize transportation or simply perform duty stably, formal roles became decisive, but the ability to do your job every day and without stopping. For him, this was a period that very clearly showed how important regular, applied work is, even if it seems mundane.
He spent about a year in the TRO, combining duty and assistance with logistical tasks. After the situation in the Kyiv region stabilized, he completed his contract service and returned to civilian work.
His return to the company was a natural continuation of what he did before the service. He again got behind the wheel of a truck and returned to work as a freight forwarder. But the approach to work itself after this experience became more collected: attention to detail, understanding of responsibility for each trip, a calmer attitude to non-standard situations.
Today, Serhiy continues to work in Kyiv. For him, this experience is not about a separate period of life, but about how professional skills can work in different conditions and remain useful regardless of the circumstances.