In times of war, fighters often turn to their fellow soldiers for callsigns, sometimes these callsigns come with weapons and equipment, to which they are held in special regard.

Thanks to volunteer assistance, one of the combat units of the Mogilev-Podilsky detachment received several vehicles, including a right-hand drive Mitsubishi off-road vehicle. The vehicle immediately went to the front lines, where border warriors named it the Dragon. The vehicle earned this name because of the air intakes on the hood, resembling the nostrils of a mythical creature. On the front lines, rapid movement is often necessary, usually over rough roads or no roads at all. Transporting cargo or troops via the dirt roads of the front line is the daily task of the Dragon.

Officer Grigory, using the pseudonym "Kar," explains that thanks to the Dragon, they were able to quickly deliver personnel to combat positions because the off-road vehicle could pass where fully equipped 66th GAZ vehicles or Iveco trucks got stuck. It's no secret that danger often lurks for soldiers when they approach or leave a position. Often, they have to cover distances of 2-5-7 kilometers, carrying weapons, ammunition, and provisions. Thanks to the Dragon, the soldiers of this border unit could reach positions 200-500 meters away, significantly easing their lives and saving them.

Kar explains that the Dragon is like a brother to the unit, so they didn't abandon it even after enemy shelling. The off-road vehicle began to get stuck in the swamp, from where the previous day a tank had pulled out an armored personnel carrier when enemy mortars started working. "To save our lives, we had to leave the car. But later we returned for it, and fortunately, it remained undamaged. The Dragon, in turn, never let us down. Our vehicle truly flies like a 'dragon' through impassable terrain, maneuvering under fire at maximum proximity to the front line," Grigory recounts. He's not accustomed to military uniform since he served in the ranks of the State Border Guard Service until 2006. And now, after seventeen years, from the first days of the full-scale invasion, he returned to service without hesitation.

"When war knocks on your door, the first thing you think about is protecting what's most precious. Your own family, your children," says Grigory. Along with his comrades, he has been participating in battles in the hottest spots of Donetsk for two years, where he tries to fulfill combat missions and preserve personnel and equipment.

Currently, Kar and his unit are rotating out of the combat zone for rest, recovery, training... During this "rest," the Dragon will undergo full technical maintenance to continue reliably assisting Ukrainian border guards.