Viclore

This is part of a series of interviews that I conducted as part of The Chevrons Project. Andrey is a Kyiv resident whom I met a couple of years ago. He is the founder of Rooftop Drones, a group which encourages his fellow Kyiv residents to learn to make drones. If you’d like to donate to his project, his Linktree with donation options can be found here.

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Vic:  So if you could first tell me your name, and a little bit about what you’ve been doing during the wartime in Ukraine?

Andrey: Yeah. Hi I’m Andrey from Kyiv, and I was here since the first day of the start of the war. Let’s say not the war, but the full-scale invasion because the war started 2013, but the full-scale invasion started on 21^st February 2022. So, I was here. I stayed here for the first days.

The first day when the war started I was in Kyiv, I live in Kyiv, I live alone. I did preparations for my job, because when the war started I needed to do some stuff. The second day, I went to the territorial defence- well actually I wanted to get a weapon because I knew that if Ukrainians will show resistance, then it will stay. I went from my home to get AK-74 weapon but I changed direction because there was rumours that in my neighbourhood already Russians, and there already were.

I went to the centre of the city to another place, and when I came there were none. I spent my night in the metro station. On the third day everybody come- I come and there is already no weapons, but there was a proposition to enlist in the territorial defence so I enlisted with the territorial defence. I was there for three days but then I figured out that I’m sitting there doing nothing with a lot of people and I knew after Maidan[1] that it’s the people and volunteers that confer powers, so I joined them.

In the next three weeks I was on the 10-ton trucks. Me with my friend we took it as there were no drivers but we were, and we were completing missions for different military organisations and volunteers. So the most cool mission was for the 16^th brigade of army aviation, with these helicopters based in Lviv, they were relocated to a place near Kyiv and they needed to relocate rockets. There were no trucks at their disposal at that time to transport rockets, so we students just went and took these rockets and some of those were good days and we were brave and on the surface all these helicopters in a single place.

I received for this a certificate of gratitude but no chevron. So I thought the first months in March, I have a very cool certificate of gratitude and no chevron. If I wanted could have taken but no.

Later I stayed in Kyiv since April 2022 until April 2024. I did different things for different units and that’s how I received several chevrons, and now for example I hold in my hand a Belarussian chevron because when Russians retreated from Kyiv in April 2022 I thought what can I do now- because the activity requires more than it did in March like transferring around Kyiv rockets and so on. It was not necessary because the Russians were defeated and helicopters also flew over to Donbas so I was listless in this time.

I decided that I wanted to help the Belarussian regiment because I believe that freedom in Belarus will help Ukraine, it’s my main idea actually. So I connected and tracked them down and I did some stuff for them. I delivered them money, I brought them a tent for guys that they needed, so things to help them. Also small things like paper for printing, also I was logistics. They needed to transfer some things from Western Ukraine on logistics and they gave me a chevron with their emblem of a medieval knight and this is a battle badge, but for their friends they give this one.

Vic: So they have two different colours?  Ones that they use and ones that they give to other people?

Andrey: Yes, their colour is red and white, they give only to soldiers. For people that help they get one like this. At least it was at that time. Also, I received this one- it’s an image of Mykola[2] because it’s an organisation called which is called Lehion Obolon and it’s my neighbourhood where I live in Kyiv, it is called Obolon.

As soon as the war appeared not only army brigades, not only the national guard, not only territorial defence but things called like government territorial defence forces- it was like it was not territorial but was like half government half volunteer based in the district. So this one was called Lehion Obolon and I help them because when people asked me- we had at this time plenty of volunteer support, and I helped to organise the stuff to come to them, I asked them do you need this or this, and they told yes and I was like the mediator. They give it to me because in the end I satisfied their requirements.

Vic: Did they have a scheme, like if you spend a certain amount of time volunteering with them, they would give you one?

Andrey: No, no. But it was 2022 maybe the rules have changed about chevrons. It evolves. At that time, it was only to me personally because I did good things for them. Also, there is another- but this was kind of funny, because this was territorial defence of the Donbas. I was given this but I don’t really want to have it because my role in this was literally minutes.

It was like- I know people in a unit in Kyiv and they say they have received some amount of military equipment and they asked me do you know anybody who needs this equipment, and I just asked guys and guys told me that a brigade needed it so I gave them their Nova Poshta[3] and in gratitude they sent these to the issuer and to me. I was intermediary, I’m not nobody in my opinion because my role was like 3 minutes- it’s not important.

Something I am proud of is this Army of Drones chevron because this is not military but Army of Drones is government because it was given to the winners of a hackathon- the first hackathon in 2022.

I was in a team, and my team won in nomination. We worked half a year on our project and it was this chevron. It is not military but it is cool. And the last chevron is this one and this one I like because it is 66^th brigade, and I have a friend who serves there are as a Master Sergeant.

I helped him in stable bases 2022 to 2024 different things doing from buying him a backpack to even finding the way to order him a cool plate for his new car, he had shipped a car from the US. He needed a license plate and I got it with a cool design for free because I used my bank account benefits- so they even paid for this. It was just kind of cool. I did different things. So, I wanted to send him one of our drones. So this is personal. 66^th brigade.

This is my story. My story is like everything is personal, all of this for me.

Vic: You’ve not thought about getting chevrons made up for the Rooftop Drones[4] at all?

Andrey: No, I mean it’s about souvenirs. I have already one certificate of gratitude which is not here, which means that I stayed in Kyiv when they invaded and I was literally going around with rockets for fucking helicopters for three days. And I have gratitude[5] for these brigades. For me, it’s enough. You can go to Kyiv and find that everyone right now has a gratitude. You can just donate a laptop, and you receive a gratitude from the army.

It’s very cool that civilians are getting them, but it is just nowhere near previous resources and mental conditions. So not all four of these were 2022 this one [66^th brigade chevron] I received in 2024 thanks to consistent help so right now I don’t even ask about chevrons, because I with my friends make 30 FPV (First Person View) drones and 10 more are coming. 30 FPV drones deserves a chevron but I have not asked because I don’t specially need it, but if they give it will be valuable for me. So, very important- I don’t ask. If they give, I’m really thankful it’s really really cool but I don’t ask.

Vic: So do you think that it’s been a bit diluted now that everyone hands out chevrons for everything?

Andrey: Yes. I think that it’s been diluted, except for Belarussian ones because they have chevrons for warriors and they have chevrons for friends. Of course it is diluted, I mean it is not diluted only in cases where for what it was he or she received the chevron. And yeah maybe the exit of this can be this as a solution, for military to print specific chevrons like with some name in or some gratitude so yeah.

Vic: How do you feel to receive a chevron that’s in recognition of work you’ve done?

Andrey: It is an honour for me because army people, they take it from their shoulders and give it to me. The only one that was sent to me by Nova Poshta I don’t really have a lot of value to personally- I worked 3 minutes in Telegram for this so <laughs>.

Vic: So like this one [Belarussian unit chevron] has literally been taken from someone’s arm and given to you?

Andrey: Yes.

Vic: That’s really cool. Thank you for sharing those with me. Do you have any other comments on chevrons?  I’ve got my very touristy ones here, what do you think?

Andrey: Yeah. I think that some of them are pretty historic. I would say two things. First, in military culture where we have badge to show your roles, I think that it’s very good to have battle chevrons and chevrons for people who are supporters, because if some guys go to the battlefield for months and is shot and risks himself- my chevron for me being given only for helping, they cannot be equal. So in my opinion each brigade, each regiment, they need to have chevrons for friends. And second, I would say they need to have some diary like “on 23^rd March 2025 a chevron was given to this person because he consistently supported on these days,” so each chevron must have a track and must have an ID, and track it- in an ideal world. Because then it becomes like a rarity which can be held forever. And the third, maybe don’t need to just give to everyone but maybe someone that has made something important.

Vic: What do you do with the chevrons that you’ve received?  Do you have them on a wall, or do you display them somewhere?

Andrey: Maybe somewhere in the future I will put a wall but now they’re just in a visible place, but it’s exactly ideal for me. The most cooler part is to make a few drones and to see how your drones destroy Russian vehicles and look at some chevrons on the wall.

Vic: What do you think of people like me who’s got a bunch?  I’ve received this one [Front Line Kit chevron] but bought those ones.

Andrey: those are not military chevrons, it’s just fun.

Vic: I know, but when you see someone who’s just obviously shoved them on their bag?

Andry: I’m against buying military chevrons. If this chevron is really military and you are not military, I don’t like when people wear it. But on the other hand, see if like they sell brigade chevrons for example for $100 and it’s like a gold chevron that tells that you donate but you’re not a military guy and they use this $100 to eliminate invaders then it’s okay for me.

Vic: So ones like this where its clearly not military-

Andrey: It’s clearly not military, it’s a Union Jack because you are from the UK. So, what’s the problem?  There is no problem, God save the king! <laughs>

Vic: <laughs> Ok, thank you for your time.

Note: A joint interview between Andrey and Olha can be seen here: Ukraine Interviews: Andrey and Olha

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[1] Euromaidan, or the Maidan Uprising was a period of civil unrest in 2013 with massive protests in Kyiv. Almost 100 protestors were killed.

[2] The coat of arms of Kyiv features the Archangel Michael

[3] Ukrainian postal service. It’s tied to phone numbers, so you don’t need an address- you provide their phone number and Nova Poshta handles the rest.

[4] Rooftop Drones is a small group Andriy runs with friends which assembles drones for military units

[5] People will refer to the government certificates of gratitude simply as a gratitude