"Warwar" did not know word "impossible"

His call sign "Warwar" [Barbarian in Ukrainian] is actually "twice war" in English. "WarWar". Anatolii Tehza was a commander that everyone in the army, from his comrades to generals, dreamed of and was proud of. He planned hundreds of successful operations and participated in all of them personally. He had an extraordinary talent as an analyst, and all the operations he planned, even the most daring and daring ones, worked right under the enemy's nose. He got out of "mixes" from which it seemed impossible to get out alive. The soldiers literally went through fire and water for their commander. And when he died, his comrades evacuated WarWar's body for more than a day, literally crawling with it for 7 kilometers under enemy fire.

The story of the Special Operations Forces hero's journey as told by his family and comrades-in-arms is in the Ukrinform article.

HE PREPARED FOR THE WAR IN ADVANCE

- "He had this trait of always standing up for what was right, being fair and sincere, and this probably played a key role in his decision to go to war," says Bohdan, Anatolii's brother, whom we talk to some time after the hero's burial.

Before the war, Tolia [Anatolii] was engaged in private business, helping his father and starting his own projects. He lived like everyone else, by his own rules and honor, earned a living, and built a family. Anatolii and Daria's family had a wonderful boy and girl.

In 2014, when Russia's war against Ukraine began, he became interested in drones, even though he had no relevant education. At some point, the brother says, he enrolled in a drone piloting course. But when the training began, the instructors realized that they could not give Anatolii anything and offered him to teach as well. In response, they said: "Thank you, but if you think you have nothing more to teach me, I'll take up another field."

So "WarWar" continued to learn related technologies, especially since his brother Bohdan, who has also been a combatant since 2014, gave him a lot of equipment to study.

- Tolia often went to the garage and disassembled the equipment, tinkered, read, and spent every free minute studying technology. "Obviously, he realized that this kind of equipment has great prospects in various industries," adds Anatolii's wife Daria Tehza.

"And when a full-scale war broke out in 2022, Tolia's skills were worth their weight in gold.

Because the man had a spinal injury (he was fitted with a plate and was forbidden to lift more than 10 kg), he decided to start training in advance, especially physical training. Bohdan says that his brother had a wide circle of friends in the Sheikh Mansur battalion (Ichkeria), so he immediately, on February 24, rushed to Kyiv to join them. But the guys stopped him, literally: "If you have the opportunity, get ready, learn a certain specialty, the war is long, if you are needed, we will call you."

So every day Anatolii spent at the training grounds: he bought weapons, optics, armor and trained as a sniper at his own expense. At the same time, he often told his family that he would not hide from the war, he would prepare and go to war.

- He said that he was doing it for us, his family, his children, our family, to keep the killers from coming here," Daria recalls.

"CARPATHIAN SICH" AND THE SOF: WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO BE BROTHERS IN SPIRIT

Anatolii Tehza, a resident of Uzhhorod, went to the military registration and enlistment office the day before the 101st Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces [TDF] was leaving Transcarpathia for the front line. It was March of bloody 2022. Anatolii began his career as a defender of Ukraine among the TDF. The military's brother Bohdan tells us about that period:

- "We didn't know much from his stories back then, it was a difficult time when the active Ukrainian defense was just being formed. However, from the stories of his comrades-in-arms, we know that Tolia always went to the front lines, participated in all operations and evacuated the wounded. In one case, he was not afraid of shelling and returned with his commander to get weapons and ammunition during the redeployment of the unit, risking being cut off from the main forces. However, courage and the ability to calculate options and make decisions helped in those circumstances, and Tolia and his commander managed to take everything they needed and leave before the enemy blew up the bridge they were using to retreat.

His brother recalls that he was credited with many similar actions. At some point, Tolia decided to join the Carpathian Sich unit because he knew many of the Sich members, saw their unity, and felt close in spirit.

- Tolia said that he liked the fact that the Sich never "gave up the ghost" and defended national interests. "And when the Sich decided to join the Special Operations Forces, they were accepted without hesitation, because they had a good reputation, many successful special operations before the full-scale invasion," Bohdan recalls.

"The Carpathian Sich" became a separate unit in the Special Operations Center (SOC) 'West'. From January to the end of May 2023, the Sich defended Ukrainian positions in Bakhmut.

THE "WARWAR" ALWAYS WENT FIRST AND WAS THE FIRST TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT

- There, their work was quite difficult, because they were scouts, went behind enemy lines, and conducted various special operations. Their duties also included assault operations and mopping up operations. In addition, the Sich members brought Ukrainian soldiers to the front lines, took them on rotation, and evacuated the wounded. Aerial reconnaissance was also carried out to adjust the work of the long-range artillery of the 26th and 45th Brigades. "That is, the Sich members were not afraid to go where others did not go," says Bohdan.

"The Special Forces had to explore the area in detail, study the enemy's positions and routes. This is where drones came in handy for Anatolii. He flew them with incredible ease, explored the territory, noticed the smallest features of the landscape, paved the way, identified the locations of Russians' bases, and much more.

- "Before each mission, Tolia would first survey the area with the help of drones and learn it like the back of his hand," Bohdan says about his brother. "He said that he would create a picture in his head and plan every step. During operations, Tolia was often accompanied by a drone piloted by his brother, so the planning was adjusted to the current situation. And it was right and very thoughtful. But it is also important that Tolia, also using a UAV, explored the remote territory occupied by the enemy up to 40 km deep to know its location, logistics, etc. Thus, during the operation itself, Warwar was the first to go. His comrades told us that Tolia could let the enemy come within a few meters of him, and he never lost his nerve, he waited until the last moment and then only joined the battle when the right opportunity arose. In this sense, he truly had a backbone of steel, he was a born warrior.

Anatolii Tehza's family and comrades-in-arms always told their friends and relatives that "The Warwar" was always the first to go and the first to fight, Bohdan recalls. He says that his brother was really lucky to come out of all operations almost unscathed. Tolia carried the wounded on his back, never left anyone behind, covered them, and was the last to leave in case of retreat or redeployment of the unit.

- "In general, 'Warwar' participated in 100% of the operations," adds Anatoliy's comrade-in-arms, the commander of the Carpathian Sich, Taras Deyak.

"By his actions and attitude to his comrades, 'Warwar' earned a great deal of credibility, despite the fact that he was not a career soldier.

TOLIA PAVED THE WAY TO BAKHMUT FOR EVERYONE

Anatolii Tehza's unit was stationed in Bakhmut since January 2023. Taras Deyak, a fellow Warwar soldier, recalls those days. He says that the enemies were like ants, literally "climbing" from all sides, breaking through despite the snow, mud, and cold - they kept popping up. They were opposed, among others, by our Sich members.

- We arrived at the positions with two tactical groups of special forces. One was led by me, the other by 'Warwar', but we worked as a single organism," Taras Deyak recalls. "We performed the tasks assigned to us by the command: it was reconnaissance of the front line, meaning we had to understand where the edge of our defense was and how we could strengthen problematic positions. Secondly, we were responsible for assault and clearing operations, which we carried out in cooperation with the 30th, 67th, 77th, 56th, 3rd, 57th Brigades and the Tank Corps units, helping to take and hold certain positions and covering other units. Sometimes, when we brought a certain unit to a position, we stayed with them for several days to help them "dig in" and take a look around. Of course, everything was not always perfect, as it seems, sometimes we had to "roll back", re-plan operations, enter the position from the other side, but we did our best and gained new experience.

Some say that "Warwar" played a key role in the Carpathian Sich:

- "It was he who initiated most of the moments of aerial reconnaissance and UAV strikes, taught the guys how to fly Mavic, and introduced various innovations for reconnaissance. Almost all aerial reconnaissance men in Ukraine knew Tolia, he communicated with them and always tried to implement some ideas for the unit. Thanks to Tolia, the Carpathian Sich was constantly developing technically and modernizing. As a result, we have kamikaze drones, reconnaissance devices, bombers that drop certain ammunition, and those Mavic aircraft with special repeaters to enable them to fly long distances - all thanks to Tolia.

There has never been a week, says a fellow soldier, when there was nothing to tell about Tolia, but this is not enough space...

- "We had a practice that was somewhat unusual for a traditional army - we did not blindly carry out all operations after receiving an order, but planned them very carefully," says Taras Deyak. "We gathered a core of five people, including Tolia, discussed the team, our forces, and then made the final decision together on how we would move. Before each operation, Tolia personally planned the route to the mission. When it seemed that there was no way to enter Bakhmut, he found a way! He searched for it, walked it, recorded the track, and then drew it on his tablet. Sometimes he and the guys would cut through trees along the route. Then we sent this map to the adjacent units for coordination. And for you to understand: all the units drove along the roads that the Warwar literally trampled on with its feet. And in May of this year, thanks to this trust, numerous units contacted us to bring special forces to the city. All of this is due to Tolia, his ways, logistics, and miscalculations.

Warwar also coordinated all the long-range artillery during the operations, he contacted the operators of the HIMARS and Tochka-U, guided them to the places of large enemy concentration. At the same time, he planned other special operations, made reconnaissance raids, and repelled numerous enemy attacks with his comrades. In one case, while in the so-called "gray" zone, Tolia tracked down and found an ammunition depot that had been abandoned by the enemy and which was later very useful to our fighters.

In total, the Sich members, including Anatolii Tehza, evacuated about fifty wounded soldiers from the battlefield. For saving their comrades, successful assault operations and repulsing enemy attacks, for logistics and a sabotage operation in Rostov-on-Don [Ukrinform previously reported on it], Anatolii Tehza and Taras Deyak received the Golden Cross of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

THE WANDERINGS OF AN ARMORED HUMVEE

According to his comrade, "Warwar" was particularly fond of operations that required concentration and were effective for the unit. Here is another story by Taras Deyak:

- "I remember clearly, it was May 8. Everything in Bakhmut was coming to a logical conclusion, and we realized that we would not be able to hold the city. One of the Armed Forces of Ukraine units lost an armored HMMWV, because the choice was obvious - to save the artillery and the wounded or the stuck Humvee. The armored vehicle was abandoned in plain sight, and it seemed that the enemy was about to drive up and take it away. And we felt so sorry for Tolia and his car! We would have really needed it, because the building where we lived was hit by a Hrad and our cars were damaged, so we realized that someone would have to evacuate on foot...

That's when, says Deyak, "Warwar" thought about it (and when he was thinking, he liked to snap his fingers), racked his brains for a while and decided that the armored vehicle should be taken away.

- "I immediately objected that life is more precious," the Sich member recalls, "and he was so calm: "We've been dreaming about such a vehicle for so long! Imagine how much we can do when we get it..." And what do you think? He found information on YouTube on how to start the armored vehicle, so he took two fighters, crawled into the vehicle, started it and drove it out from under the enemy's nose!

The rescued armored vehicle helped in numerous operations during the weeks that Bakhmut remained under Ukrainian control: Sich members used it to transport many wounded, deliver supplies to Ukrainian army units, and Tolia used it to evacuate civilians who were living under fire until the end.

- "And when it was time to leave, two SOF units from Frankivsk and Lviv got stuck in the city itself," Taras Deyak continues, "At that moment, all roads to Bakhmut were cut off, we left, but they could not, they were surrounded. We realized that if they were to leave, they would have to walk, but would they be able to do it? Then the "Warwar" said: "We can't leave the guys there, we've been fighting side by side for months, we have to get them out." He studied the area and told the men around him where to move to in the city. Then he put Myshko with the call sign "Tychiy" in an armored vehicle and broke through to our Special Forces at night. And already there, near the designated meeting point, literally at the last moment the vehicle fell into a sinkhole. It got stuck, so in addition to those who were surrounded, our guys were also trapped there. On the radio, we started urgently contacting everyone else in the vicinity of Bakhmut to help pull the car and the guys out. But it was no use: someone was taking out the 300th [dead], someone had already moved far from the position. That's when I was in such a panic... But an angel was on our side here, too: it was a case of fate that the fighters of the 140th SOF Center were also getting out in two armored vehicles and were passing nearby. So they pulled our car out, then hit the gas and escaped. And that was, in fact, the last operation in the city, after which Bakhmut was under occupation...

"TOLIA, YOU ARE THE SAME COMMANDER AS DA VINCI..."

His family learned about Anatolii Tehza's numerous exploits from the conversations of his comrades-in-arms, commander Taras Deyak, during the interview. All this causes a lot of emotions. The wife says that when her husband arrived for his rotation a month before his death, he went to training every day, gathering the necessary supplies for the unit. And all the time he was rushing back to the front. Daria admits that at first she could not understand this desire, but later, when she talked to his comrades-in-arms during the farewell ceremony, she realized that Tolia felt a great responsibility for the unit he led. He literally had another family at the front - a combat family.

- "And with all this, my children and I had no idea what kind of hell Tolia was in," says the hero's wife. "When he talked to us, he asked about my life, what I was doing, about the children's successes or problems. He was able to switch to our peaceful life so much that it seemed to me that he was right there, not somewhere else, a thousand kilometers away... I imagined him as a drone operator in a relatively safe place, from where he was studying the area, forming routes, etc. We had no idea that he was in the very epicenter of hell. And I am grateful to my husband for keeping these events at a distance from me, so that I would not worry about him, so that I could do the most important thing he entrusted to me - raising our children

- Once, during a rotation, Tolia came home from Bakhmut. We talked about the death of Da Vinci, about what he was like," adds Bohdan's brother. "My brother sincerely admired the fallen Hero, told me a lot about him, said that Da Vinci was truly fearless, went into battle and led others, the soldiers trusted him and followed him forward. He carefully planned each operation and participated in each one. He never left anyone behind, always retreated or returned to the base last. And when we talked about all this, I burst out: "That's what they say about you, Tolia, you are the same commander as Da Vinci..."

And indeed, his comrades portrayed "Warwar" exactly as he was: fearless, but with a sober, analytical mind; confident and able to motivate others; brave, but at the same time responsible, always relied on - exactly what a leader should be.

- They were a strong team, they stood behind each other so much that when I met Tolia's comrades, the first thought that came to me was: I have never had friends like that, and I would like to have them," says Daria, the soldier's wife. "The Sich members are ready to go to hell for each other, they think as one, and they also all understand clearly what they are doing and what is at stake. They have no doubts, because what they are fighting for - for their relatives, families, children, wives, and their land - was and is their main motivation to continue fighting.

According to Dasha, Anatolii always looked forward with a positive attitude. He never said a word about any difficulties or obstacles. All his actions were aimed at the victory of Ukraine, and he never doubted it for a minute.

DIED ON HIS WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Anatolii's family is sure that he had an extremely strong Guardian Angel, because he constantly protected him, gave him the strength to plan operations, fight, lead fighters, save friends, get them out of the shelling... But in the end, the Angel probably ran out of strength too... "Warwar" died on July 14, 2023, on his 16th wedding anniversary. Until the end of the day, no one could dare to call Anatoliy's wife with the terrible news.

On July 14, Ukrainian soldiers were clearing a position near a reservoir in the Bakhmut direction and came under heavy artillery fire.

- "From the very beginning, Tolia openly disliked the operation, he had doubts about the evacuation point and some positions, but he did not refuse the order," Taras Deyak reveals the details.

"During the assault, the enemy covered the Ukrainians with such dense fire that, according to eyewitnesses, this had never happened near Bakhmut. There were many wounded, and Tolia treated a few of them, and then went to look for those who still needed help. It was here, as his family was first told, that a piece of shrapnel hit Warwar in the head, killing him on the spot. Later, Taras Deyak clarified, it turned out that Tehza had been shot by an enemy sniper. It was seven kilometers from the Ukrainian positions. And it was very far from the evacuation point, which Warwar emphasized was inconsistent.

- First, our comrades evacuated the wounded from the site of the attack, but since the evacuation point was really far away, it was extremely difficult to carry the "300th". The logistics with the neighboring units were extremely poorly planned, and armored vehicles did not come to pick us up. It was impossible to take away Warwar's body, because the entire area was easily visible to the enemy and covered by fire, so we had to leave it at the site of death until the wounded were evacuated," says Taras Deyak.

However, his comrades decided that they would not leave Warwar on the battlefield. "He would not leave us," they said.

Deyak says that in order to evacuate the deceased, they decided to carry out a diversionary maneuver with one group, while another group went to the control point to pick up Anatoliy's body. When the soldiers were already there, the enemy launched an assault, which no one could have predicted. So the military had to literally crawl all those seven kilometers under enemy fire across difficult terrain with elevation changes.

The evacuation operation lasted 30 hours. The spirit of brotherhood prevailed: despite incredible difficulties, Tolia's body was taken from under enemy fire and brought home to his native land.

On July 22, 2023, Uzhhorod said goodbye to the fallen commander of the Carpathian Sich tactical group, Anatolii "Warwar" Tehza. Hundreds of Uzhhorod residents, military personnel, friends, and acquaintances of the hero came to see him off on his last journey.

- Anatolii Tehza is one of those commanders who were role models. This is an irreparable loss for both the family and the Armed Forces of Ukraine," said Taras Deyak.

In his opinion, which is shared by many colleagues and Transcarpathians who knew "Warwar," Anatolii Tehza deserves the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Natalia Logoyda, Uzhhorod, specially for Ukrinform

Photos from the archives of Anatolii Tehza's family, comrades-in-arms and open sources