From Civilian to Signalman: How War Rewrote the Code of Mykola Rozhkov’s Life
When Mykola Rozhkov left with his family for Western Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he had no idea that his life would change forever. That day, he did not plan to become a soldier. But fate decreed otherwise: he was drafted on the same day.
Initially, he was supposed to be sent to Lviv, but that night the enemy launched a missile strike on the training ground. Mykola’s unit was transferred to the Chop border detachment. Thus began a journey that lasted more than a year — from border patrols, guarding the northern borders to the hottest points of the front.
“After Chop, we were sent to the Chernihiv direction, then to Lymansky, and then to Bakhmut. I was a signalman, the chief of communications for our unit, I was involved in a little bit of everything. War gives you no choice — you do what you have to,” he says.
The ability to communicate with relatives was inconsistent: in the Chernihiv region, the Internet was available almost every day, and near Bakhmut - much less often. Sometimes you had to wait several days. The situation was complicated by the fact that even satellite communication was unstable due to enemy interference.
Going to the front without any military training, Mykola, like every person, felt fear. “It was always scary, I went to bed and didn’t know whether I would wake up or not,” he shares.
But at the same time, something else appeared - a strong brotherhood. Mykola still communicates with many comrades-in-arms, some of whom died. Some of the brothers-in-arms maintain contact with the families of the deceased, trying to help if possible. According to Mykola, the greatest support was provided by his family. “A wife, a child - that’s all. I kept in touch with them as soon as I could.”
After a year of service, Mykola returned home. At first, he spent two weeks with his family on vacation, trying to adapt to the civilian rhythm. He says that it was strange to observe how people in the rear areas almost do not remember the war anymore.
Returning to civilian life is always a difficult process. Mykola was lucky with his job: when he returned to work, they supported him, helped him with adaptation, and assigned a mentor. It took him about a month and a half to fully get used to the new rhythm. “The team accepted him perfectly, the attitude was good. No one made a difference that I was from the front. On the contrary, they supported me.”
Mykola shares: “The war changed my worldview. It showed who were real friends and who were just acquaintances. And it taught me to value the most important thing — family. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
Today, Mykola’s dream, like that of most Ukrainians, is simple and at the same time the most important: “A peaceful sky above my head, so that this war does not reach our children.”
His story is the story of an ordinary person who, in extraordinary circumstances, found the strength to defend what is valuable. A story that true courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward despite it. And that the greatest values remain family, brotherhood, and peace, which is worth fighting for.