I didn’t have time to finish my cigarette when Tymofeich got into the front passenger seat of the Cruiser, so I had to stub it out, shove the butt into the pack, and get into the car as well.
I made three discoveries about the car the Minister of Defense was using back in the “warm, cozy” 2017 right then: first, the Cruiser was far from new, although it was a two-hundred model; second, it was not armored at all (it’s strange to even mention this now); and third, an MP5K was lying on the floor behind the driver.
– Don’t step on the weapon, – grumbled the Minister of Defense.
– Jawohl, – I replied. He chuckled.
He paid no attention to the fact that I immediately picked up the gun from the floor and started examining it. In his mind, I was military, which meant I handled weapons “in compliance with safety regulations.”
The car was moving from the left bank to the right; it was August “hot in the sun – cool in the shade,” a minibus with respectable colonels loomed behind, and we talked… about everything. This was a moment when I spent a whole day (and the day with him is long) with the Minister of Defense, and in the morning, I got a scolding from him for those sneakers (don’t ask why, because I didn’t ask either), and in the evening, I would be falling on my feet in those same sneakers.
Stepan Tymofiyovych was very effective and energetic, yet calm. Of course, I didn’t know the details of what he was talking about (and sometimes I was asked to leave the office), but I saw that this short, stocky, and strong man with icy eyes was capable. That he could handle a whole workday lasting fourteen hours and still have energy for tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. And for a long time after.
At the beginning of the full-scale war, I met him in April. He was already in reserve (or retired, I’m not sure how to put it correctly), but still a General of the Army of Ukraine, performing specific tasks at the request of the Commander-in-Chief. Just as energetically, calmly, deliberately, and persistently.
Today is his birthday. Congratulations, Stepan Tymofiyovych. Both then, in 2017, and now, I respect you greatly. But only now did I realize that the weapon in your car was lying on the floor behind the driver’s seat. In other words, it was placed so that only you could use it if necessary.
Glad to know you. Happy Birthday, Tymofeich 🙂
