My mother turned gray. The author of the phrase about the Russian warship told how he learned about his 'death'.

Roman Hrybov, a marine who became the author of the phrase about the Russian military ship, said he learned about his 'death' while being in captivity. The news shocked the soldier, as he could not imagine how his relatives, especially his mother and wife, perceived it. He mentioned this in an interview with 'Glavkom'.

'While I was in captivity, something terrible happened to them, primarily because they initially thought I was dead. We found out that we all 'died' when we landed in Crimea. Russian journalists approached us and said: 'Do you know that yesterday your president 'buried' you? And I immediately thought in horror: what about my family? Knowing my mother, I was afraid she would do something harmful to herself. My wife also thought I was dead,' the soldier noted.

Hrybov recounted that in Crimea, one of the Russian guards approached him and offered to write down a phone number to inform his family that he was alive:

'But in Crimea among those swine, there was one man, a verdugo, who was guarding us. Knowing I was from the Cherkasy region (and his mother-in-law and wife were from Cherkasy), he approached me and said: 'Write down a phone number you remember, we will inform your family that you are alive'. Later, my mother said that an unknown woman called from a Crimean number and told her that I was in captivity. And only then did my mother 'sigh' with relief. Before that, my photo with a black ribbon and the inscription: 'Heavenly Kingdom to Roman Hrybov' was circulated in local chats. My mother turned gray.

While the marine was in captivity, his wife lost so much weight that she was on the verge of anorexia: 'My wife lost so much weight that she was on the verge of anorexia. When I saw her after returning, it was as if I had forgotten what had happened to me in captivity. Primarily, I wanted to help them get back on their feet, my mother and wife. They struggled every day; my wife knocked on all doors and filed applications with institutions dealing with captives; she involved many friends and acquaintances. Perhaps this also affected my early release from captivity.'

Roman Hrybov noted that he and his wife have been living together for four years, although they have not officially registered their marriage. He promised her that this year they would officially get married.

Let us remind you that on February 24, 2022, Russian military ships approached the defenders of Zmiinyi Island: the missile cruiser 'Moskva', the frigate 'Admiral Essen', and the patrol ship 'Vasyl Bykov'. The garrison of the island was offered to surrender. However, Ukrainian border guards and marines decisively refused, responding briefly but meaningfully with the phrase: 'Russian warship, go f*ck yourself!'. In response, Russian forces launched a massive missile and artillery strike on the garrison.

Later, it became known that the military who countered the Russian occupiers on Zmiinyi Island remained alive and were captured. And by March 6, 2022, a photo of the author of the phrase about the 'Russian military ship' appeared online. It turned out that the legendary marine's name is Roman Hrybov, and he is from Zolotonosha in Cherkasy region. At the end of March, the military released from Russian captivity returned to his homeland in the Cherkasy region. The head of the Cherkasy regional state administration presented him with an award 'For services to Cherkasy'.