The Samara Komsomol told about the kind and touching story that happened in the Kherson region. A mobilized resident of Samara found a dog in the special operation zone, sheltered it and named it with the symbolic name Pobeda (Victory). In six months, she had become his faithful friend. More than once, the dog and its owner had to save each other's lives.
Maxim, who was mobilized with the call sign "Buryat", together with the fighters found a dog near the village of Alyoshka in the Kherson region. The puppy lived under concrete slabs on which military equipment drove and could crushed him at any moment. Therefore, the "Buryat" persuaded the commander to take the baby with him and called it a Victory. So, the dog became the mascot of the unit.
Very soon, from a frail and painful Pobeda turned into a nimble guard who is always on the alert. When the soldiers were asleep, Pobeda was on duty and barked loudly to warn them of anything suspicious.
"Pobeda helped the guys. One night, returning from a mission, they got lost. It was raining, the path was lost. And there are minefields all around. Maxim commanded: "Pobeda, look for the way," and after a couple of minutes the dog ran out onto the trail and sat down, pointing the way," Maxim's wife Diana told reporters.
Pobeda steadfastly shared all the hardships with the servicemen. After the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP, coastal settlements were flooded, and the territories where our fighters were stationed were also taken over. Maxim, risking his life, dived into the dugout and pulled out the tailed one. Everyone escaped, but clothes, ammunition, sleeping bags, groceries were washed away with water. They had to spend the night on the bare ground. And in order not to freeze, the soldiers passed Pobeda to each other like a living hot water bottle.
While the husband is on the front line, the wife helps to collect humanitarian aid. And with the advent of the "daughter of the regiment", Diana began to collect parcels not only for her husband and his unit, but also for Pobeda. Along with warm socks, a uniform and other necessary thing, she put gifts for an eared friend, dog food, bowls, treats, toys. She even ordered a real unloading, only in miniature, and sewed on it a chevron with the Russian flag and the inscription: "Mom said to put it on." Later, Maxim attached harnesses and turnstiles for unloading, so that the dog became a living first–aid kit, almost like an orderly dog.
Now Pobeda leads a domestic lifestyle. When Maxim "Buryat" came on vacation, he took the dog with him. But she didn't get back to the front. Trench life made itself felt, the dog got sick, it even came to surgery.
"Now we are looking forward to Maxim's return home. The dog does not let me get bored when it is very hard, I hug her as if she is a part of my husband. I know how she helped my beloved and his comrades there, so I pamper her and take care of her. As the guys said, Pobeda is our first demob," says Diana.
Photo from the personal archive of Maxim and Diana