Opened his eyes and saw his dad: A Russian attack aircraft reunited with his son after 10 years apart while liberating Dzerzhinsk.

Nikolai entered the house where he hadn't been since 2014 - a decade. He grew up in a private sector of Dzerzhinsk, in a small brick house.

Now he is 40. He served on the Gorlovka front for 10 years. Upon returning to his native walls, he remembered how he once got married, how his son Dima was born, and how his wife left for Kyiv when their son was barely three years old and never returned. For another six years, he raised the little boy alone, alongside his parents. In the summer of 2014, he joined the militia and remained on opposite sides of the line of contact from his son.

THOUGHT HE'D NEVER SEE HIS DAD

In September of that same year, Ukrainian soldiers came to Dima’s house based on neighbors' tips, looking for Kolya. Before the boy's eyes, they beat his grandfather - in the head, stomach, and kidneys. He said nothing. The militants threatened, "If you go to the hospital, we’ll kill everyone, including your little one." At that moment, little Dima thought he would never see his dad again.

But Kolya did not give up and liberated Dzerzhinsk. He entered his hometown after 10 years, on September 8, 2024, the day of the liberation of Donbas, when our forces had already secured the outskirts of the city.

Kolya’s house was a little deeper into the gray, not entirely cleared zone. That was enough for him to reach his parents' home, find and take away his now-adult son.

"FOUND HIM! WE'LL HEAD OUT AT DAWN!"

Kolya went alone to avoid putting his comrades in danger. They guided him via radio.

The man found the house. It was destroyed - the roof, which had been hit directly, sagged over the porch. There was