At the forefront of efforts to stop the Russian army from advancing into eastern Ukraine is the Carpathian Sich battalion, a unit of Ukrainians and foreigners that responded to Kiev’s plea for help in fighting the invader.
In the captured city of Izium, these soldiers hide in a damp basement a kilometer from the Russian defense line. Artillery rains down on them most nights, loosening the plaster and filling the air with dust.
“Now it’s an artillery war. It’s a tougher war, a scarier war, in which only people strong in their spirit can fight,” said Dzvin, a battalion field commander who asked to be identified by his nom de guerre for security reasons related to his role as leadership.
The fighters say they are united by a fierce commitment to Ukraine, which is now undergoing a punitive test.
“Each of our warriors understands that at some point they will come face to face with a tank,” Dzvin said.
The unit recently captured a nearly intact tank, but it also has to deal with Russian drones that help direct artillery fire to their positions.
“It’s getting a lot harder here. The longer it lasts, it’s definitely tiring,” said Conor, a British volunteer and former Army medic serving on the front lines.
“They bombed at 1am, 2am and 4am yesterday morning, so this is obviously breaking our sleep routine. But you need to stay positive,” she pointed out.
Motivation
Whether born in Ukraine or a foreigner who heeded Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea for help, each combatant has their own reasons for being on the front lines, aware of the risks of death, injury or capture.
“We all know the possible consequences of being here and we are all at peace with that,” said Dzvin.
His battalion’s job in Izium is to stop a Russian advance that could lead to other Ukrainian units being surrounded, he explained.
“It’s extremely important. Our deterrence makes it impossible to create a major encirclement of our troops.”
Another combatant, Denis Polishchuk, said he hoped that serving on the front lines would give him a dignified answer if his children asked him what he had to do during the war to help.
“I felt like the only worthy answer would be that, yes, I was doing my part. I was fighting alongside everyone else,” declared Polishchuk, who was born in Ukraine but spent many years in Vancouver, earning him the nom de guerre “Canada”.
Conor said images of wounded women, children and fighters not receiving adequate medical help motivated him to leave the UK to join the fight, adding that “some of the knowledge I was trained in” would be useful, such as helping to set up field hospitals. .
Source: CNN Brasil
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