During the annexation of the Crimea, most of the Ukrainian servicemen and law enforcement officers serving there joined the Russian ranks and remained on the peninsula. Of the 20,000 security officials, only 6,000 returned to mainland Ukraine. Among them were 200 cadets from the Nakhimov Naval School. In March 2014, when the institution was transitioning to Russian jurisdiction, about two dozen cadets sang Ukraine’s national anthem – they immediately became symbols of loyalty to Ukraine. Hromadske brings you the story of one of them – Pavlo “Pasha” Hladchenko.
On March 20, 2014, Pavlo, a second-year cadet at Sevastopol’s Nakhimov Academy did not join the ceremonial formation. The 19-year-old, together with several dozens other cadets, remained in the building and watched what was happening on the parade ground out the window. Two days prior, Crimea had been annexed by Russia. The school changed flags and came under new leadership.
When the Russian and St Andrew's flags were hoisted onto the flagpoles, Pavlo, along with his fellow students, ran out of the building to the courtyard and began to sing the national anthem of Ukraine. They quickly got the attention of television crews, who immediately ran up to them. Ceremonial music was then turned up to drown out the singing of the cadets. After finishing the anthem, the cadets saluted, patted each other on the shoulder and returned inside. A month later they came to Odesa.
We are sitting with Senior Lieutenant Pavlo Hladchenko in the cabin of the anti-sabotage boat “Hola Prystan,” which he commands, and watching the video taken that day. Pavlo stands in the first row, so he is more visible than others. The now 24-year-old Pavlo has barely changed from his days as a cadet – he still has a boyish face and a slightly shy smile. He occasionally comments on the video; when a cadet takes down the Ukrainian flag, he says: “He doesn’t understand what he is doing. I think he cries there anyway.” When the footage becomes shaky – the cameraman evidently started running towards the cadets – Pavlo laughs: "I thought they were running to beat us up then."
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