Il sole è tramontato su Kiev nel 1360° giorno dell’invasione su vasta scala. Incontra l’equipaggio di “Milf”, l’obice M114 di 80 anni che tiene la linea vicino a Pokrovsk

The American M114 gun is now in action on the Pokrovsk front, holding back the Russian onslaught. Originally built in 1943 to halt the advance of Nazi forces during World War II, it was transferred to Ukraine by the Czech Republic during the full-scale war. The Frontliner team visited the positions of the 152nd Jaeger Brigade artillerymen and saw the legendary gun in action.

The gun commander, Roman, callsign ‘Kostyl,’ explains the features of the M114. It’s a 155mm howitzer with a range of 14.5 km. Technically, the crew should consist of 12 people, but here six handle it just fine.

‘Kostyl’ began his service in 2022 with an air defense unit in the western part of the country, where he’s from. A year ago, he was transferred to the 152nd Brigade. He trained as a gunner and even traveled to Portugal to learn how to operate this specific howitzer. He feels that foreign instructors had little to teach Ukrainian soldiers hardened by the daily grind of combat. After the training, the unit went through coordination exercises before heading to the front.

‘Kostyl’ recalls the thrill of the gun’s first hit:

>“I think we’ll always reminisce about the first strike. When we went into combat, we had just started firing, and then they told us, ‘Fourth shot, guys, one hundred percent hit!’ They sent us the video showing how we hit – a huge building with enemy infantry inside. That was amazing. I think every artilleryman will remember their first hit,” Roman shares.

Unlike his comrade, Yurii, a crew member with the call sign ‘Odysseus,’ had experience fighting in the infantry. Once he was stuck on his position for 25 days, as the situation made it impossible to rotate the infantry.

During another rotation, “Odysseus” nearly burned alive while on watch at the observation post – his position came under attack from incendiary drone drops.

After some time, he was offered a transfer to the artillery, and he accepted. This rotation is his first since completing training, and he’s content in his new role:

>“I like it more, of course – infantry was much harder. My job is to charge the powder. We have a friendly team, the crew will help if you don’t know something, plus the logistics are better, and it’s a bit safer,” Yurii ‘Odysseus’ shares.

He earned his call sign because of his origins in Odesa and his numerous deployments – over the course of a year, he served in Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, and Donetsk regions. “I got around – just like Odysseus!” the soldier laughs.

Complete article: [https://frontliner.ua/en/gun-milf-gives-the-occupiers-hell/](https://frontliner.ua/en/gun-milf-gives-the-occupiers-hell/)

Text: Olena Maksymenko

Photos: Marharyta Fal

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At least something from my country is useful. As an American, it’s shameful and disturbing how little we’ve done.

Good night Kyiv, sending all kinds of peace and positive energy for a safe night.🇺🇦