He lost his foot, but continues to fight for Ukraine. Andrii, with the call sign Chornozem, a Ukrainian soldier of the 128th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, turned a Soviet TM-62M anti-tank mine into a ukulele — a musical instrument symbolizing his resilience and creative spirit even during war, Armiia TV reports.
The Soviet TM-62M anti-tank mine is highly deadly due to its large explosive charge of approximately 7.5 kilograms of TNT. It is designed to destroy armored vehicles by detonating under a pressure of 150 to 550 kilograms. Its blast can penetrate tank hulls and cause fatal damage to tracked and wheeled military vehicles.
In civilian life, Andrii was a professional musician and sound engineer. He played in bands and recorded in studios. In 2014, to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he became a volunteer auto mechanic. When the full-scale war began, he voluntarily joined the 128th brigade and became a sapper.
The idea to create the ukulele came during his work.
“The mine’s casing is hollow, it can be used as a resonator — I already had experience with musical instruments, I have a banjo and have made bass guitars myself. The ukulele is the simplest instrument, but it plays,” Andriy explains.
In June 2022, Andrii started serving as a sapper. He repaired wires in minefields in Donetsk Oblast, which were often cut under fire, risking his life daily on combat missions.
In spring 2023, during a counteroffensive, he stepped on an anti-personnel mine and lost his foot. But even the injury didn’t break his will.
“There was no panic, I put on a tourniquet myself, friends came to help in time, and I was evacuated,” Andrii recalls.
During rehabilitation, music helped him overcome phantom pain and keep his spirit up. After eight months, he learned to walk with a prosthesis and returned to the battalion to continue mine clearance.
“Experienced sappers are hard to replace, and my motivation is to put an end to the Moscow empire, which has troubled us for 300 years,” the Ukrainian soldier says.
He hopes that the modern Ukrainian generation will be able to achieve something on this front. If past generations didn’t fully resolve this issue, he simply wants to finish the job.
