“Today, the spirit of the Homeland and the patriotism of our youth is high. After the last battles and our great Victory, we saw what our people are capable of. We must all love our Homeland, our Anthem and our Flag. If not “We love, we cannot protect our lands.”
These words with the Department of Education of the city of Baku “Caspian” Ragif Israyilov, guest of the “School” project jointly carried out by the newspaper, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, hero of the Patriotic War, spoke to students during his visit to school number 205 in Binagadi district.
He reviewed our recent military history for schoolchildren at the meeting held on the eve of Victory Day, November 8.
He wanted to be a soldier since he was little.
R. Israyilov gave information about himself and said that he wanted to be a soldier since childhood.
“I was born in the village of Gurdtepe of Shamakhi district. I lost my parents when I was a child. I became interested in military work since childhood. After graduating from high school, I did military service. However, my love for work military did not change. After returning from military service, I entered the special faculty of the Baku United Command Higher School. On July 17, 1997 I graduated from that school with the specialty of commander. tactical engineering troops. I worked in various positions on February 1, 1999, following the explosion the doctors thought that my eyes would heal. Later, I became the head of the brigade, on November 5, 2001 I was injured by. second time. as a result of a mine explosion while performing a combat mission in the forward position.
More than 12 years on the front line
“I spent more than 12 years of my military service on the front lines. I was in the war zone before the war started,” the colonel continued:
“I directed the organization of engineering support to the attacking troops in the direction of Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan, the clearing of obstacles around the blown-up bridges over the Hekari River and the preparation of military bridges.” R. Israyilov prevented the treacherous plan by cutting the electrical detonation line of two bridges prepared to be blown up by the enemy: “We have laid the foundations of the path of victory. To liberate the city of Shusha from occupation, Beuky Taglar (Meshtaglar) – Chanagchi-Sighnag’s mountainous and densely forested areas were impassable under enemy artillery fire. I led the construction of the road in a short period of time. time and the passage of troops along that road. To ensure its unhindered movement, I led the restoration of a part of the existing road that was mined and destroyed by the enemy passing through the Omar Pass in harsh mountainous and snowy areas, clearing it. clearing mines and other obstacles, and leading the construction of a new road.
R. Israyilov also led the work on liberating the Lachin region from occupation and clearing mines around the exploded bridges and preparing the passages: “We had friends who were martyred while we were building the road and bridges. We were working under enemy artillery fire. If they had not built the road, our troops would have entered those areas. He would not know. Our soldiers were working in a frost of 18 to 20. degrees”.
R. Israyilov was released into the reserve on September 15, 2021. Since February 11, he has been working as a senior lecturer at the Azerbaijan Army Training Center.
The path to victory
To the question from the audience: “How does the “Hero of the Patriotic War” feel among the student public?”, the guest gave an interesting answer: “We all come out from behind this desk. These classes are sacred to us. I “They invite me to events like a person who has gone through the path of war. Every time I come to school I feel like a student.”
“Our generation has seen war in movies. How did you feel as a person who lived through those terrible events?” In response to the question, the war veteran said that no one wants war: “Those who died there are someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s brother. Even if we win, there are losses in war. War leaves a mark on everyone’s life.” It is difficult to escape its influence. Our veterans are not well. They close their eyes. Nobody knows what will happen in the war. He does not know whether he is heading towards martyrdom or martyrdom. Everyone knew he was headed for victory…”
If you want to win…
“After 30 years, we returned to our lands that were liberated from occupation. You are one of the first to set foot on those lands. The sensations you experienced at that time are interesting…” asked one of the students. In his response, R. Israyilov said that they cried with joy when they set foot on those lands:
“For 30 years, the enemy had built strong fortifications. They thought that the Azerbaijani army would not be able to break through those barriers. After the April battles, we began to increase our preparations. We did not know when the order would come. But we were always prepared to war. If you don’t want war, if you want to win, you always have to be prepared for war. We had analyzed all the enemy’s activities. We knew that we could be martyrs, even wounded. but we wanted our lands to be free and we fought for this fact.
Unified command, unity of the people and the army
The colonel asked: “What does victory mean to you?” The answer to the question was also interesting:
“Today, our children, who wear orders and medals on their chests, did not know that they would go to war and return alive. We had one goal: to liberate our lands from occupation. We were happy to hear the news of the victory. The enemy signed an act of capitulation without conditions. After 44 days of war, one day anti-terrorist measures were taken, we were able to talk about the integrity of our lands, Supreme Leader The will of the team led us to this great victory.”
