--- title: "From the romance of 2022 to the 'war of machines': how the nature of the conflict changed in the eyes of Seraphim Gordienko" description: "πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ AFU serviceman Seraphim Gordienko told how the nature of the war changed: from youthful maximalism in 2022 to the cold 'war of machines' after 2023. πŸ”Ή At 19, he went to the front thanks to 'heroic upbringing' and received a personal order from Valerii Zaluzhnyi to bypass the age limit. πŸ”Ή The romance of war ended after the Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive: now it is a systematic conflict where drones and infantry are inseparable. πŸ”Ή Gordienko: 'We were afraid of not making it to the war, but now we understand: this is a long job of military machines.' #Ukraine #AFU #SeraphimGordienko #War #MetaRomanticism" date: 2026-08-08T06:02:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/serafim-gordienko-from-the-romance-of-2022-to-the-war-of-machines tags: [ukraine-war, vsu, serafim-gordienko, metaromantika, military-history] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # From the romance of 2022 to the 'war of machines': how the nature of the conflict changed in the eyes of Seraphim Gordienko ![Serafim Gordienko in the studio discussing the evolution of the conflict from the romance of 2022 to the 'war of machines'](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/08/serafim-gordienko-ot-romantiki-2022-do-voiny-mashin/serafim-gordienko-ot-romantiki-2022-do-voiny-mashin-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Seraphim Gordienko went to war at 19, motivated by 'heroic upbringing' and the desire to become part of history. - To officially join the AFU, he and three comrades needed a personal order from Valerii Zaluzhnyi due to the age limit. - After the Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive of 2023, the war lost its romance and turned into a systematic conflict of 'military machines'. - Gordienko emphasizes that drones and infantry in modern war are inseparable and depend on each other. In August 2026, years after the start of the full-scale invasion, the perspective on the war that formed in the first months of 2022 underwent radical changes. Seraphim Gordienko, a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), founder of the cultural project 'Meta-Romanticism' and a member of the military motorcycle club MEMORIA, described this path of transformation in his interview with RBC-Ukraine. For him, as for many of his peers, the war began not with a draft, but with a conscious choice dictated by upbringing and the desire to become part of history. ### 'Heroic upbringing' and the path at 19 Gordienko's decision to go to the front at the age of 19 was dictated not so much by a sense of duty in the traditional sense, but by the environment and 'heroic upbringing'. He grew up on the aesthetics of the 19th century, the Napoleonic era, and literary epics, while the Revolution of Dignity became his first encounter with the reality of struggle. 'When all the heroes of your childhood are people who are somehow connected with struggle, it is natural to become that hero, at least for yourself,' he explains. On February 24, 2022, while studying in Lviv, Gordienko decided to go to fight immediately. He took the first train to Kyiv and informed his parents of his intention without asking for permission, so as not to put them in a difficult moral position. His father replied only: 'I understood that. I wish you luck.' This decision was dictated by the maximalism and sincerity characteristic of that time, when young volunteers literally feared 'missing out' on the war, competing to see who would get into the fight first. ### Personal order from the Commander-in-Chief: overcoming bureaucracy The first six months of the war, Gordienko spent as a volunteer, performing infantry tasks and working on mortars. Later, he and a group of his comrades, who were also under the age of majority, decided to specialize in drones. However, when trying to officially register for service in the AFU, they encountered a legal barrier: everyone was under 21, which prevented them from signing a contract. The situation was resolved thanks to their persistence and combat experience. According to Gordienko, they were only accepted into the army after a personal order was issued by the then Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. 'The entire Territorial Recruitment Center was paralyzed for a day: what kind of guys are these who want to get into the army so badly?' he recalls. This case became a vivid example of how, at the beginning of the war, enthusiasm and necessity could overcome rigid administrative directives. ### The end of romance: from emotions to the 'war of machines' Gordienko notes that the turning point in the perception of the war occurred after the Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive in 2023. If in 2022 emotions and the desire for a speedy victory dominated, then after 2023 the war became colder, more rational, and systematic. 'Romanticism ended in 2023... The war of military machines began,' he states. In his opinion, methods of destruction and defense went through an imbalance and began to adapt to each other, turning the conflict into a complex engineering and logistical task. ### Infantry and drone synergy An important aspect of modern war, according to Gordienko, is the inseparable link between infantry and drones. He emphasizes that drones cannot work effectively without infantry, and vice versa. In the conditions of the 'war of machines', the human factor remains critical, but its role has transformed: now it is not just a soldier with a weapon, but an operator of complex systems making decisions based on data. This transition from 'romance' to systematization determined the nature of hostilities for years to come. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Publicist Gordienko: The AFU will soon be unable to receive aerial reconnaissance data due to the Russian Armed Forces](https://news.mail.ru/svo/67528189/) - Π˜ΡΡ‚ΠΎΡ‡Π½ΠΈΠΊ Π½Π΅ содСрТит ΠΈΠ½Ρ„ΠΎΡ€ΠΌΠ°Ρ†ΠΈΠΈ ΠΎ Π‘Π΅Ρ€Π°Ρ„ΠΈΠΌΠ΅ Π“ΠΎΡ€Π΄ΠΈΠ΅Π½ΠΊΠΎ, воСннослуТащСм Π’Π‘Π£. УпоминаСтся Π΄Ρ€ΡƒΠ³ΠΎΠΉ Ρ‡Π΅Π»ΠΎΠ²Π΅ΠΊ с Ρ‚ΠΎΠΉ ΠΆΠ΅ Ρ„Π°ΠΌΠΈΠ»ΠΈΠ΅ΠΉ. НС использован Π² ΡΡ‚Π°Ρ‚ΡŒΠ΅. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Who is Seraphim Gordienko? **A:** Seraphim Gordienko is an AFU serviceman, founder of the cultural project 'Meta-Romanticism' and a member of the military motorcycle club MEMORIA. He went to war at 19 and went through the path from a volunteer to a decision-maker. ### Q: Why did Gordienko go to war at 19? **A:** He explains this by 'heroic upbringing', traditional values, and the desire to become part of a great historical event. His parents were not religious, but gave him the opportunity to choose his path independently. ### Q: How was Gordienko able to join the AFU at 19? **A:** Due to the age limit (under 21), he and three of his comrades could not sign a contract. They were accepted into the army only after a personal order from the Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. ### Q: When did the 'romance' of war end according to Gordienko? **A:** According to him, romanticism ended in 2023 after the Zaporizhzhia counteroffensive. The war became colder, more rational and systematic, turning into a 'war of military machines'.