“Everything you see here is what comes flying at us every day.” says soldier Andriy “Look, that’s an RPG fragment, but we have lots of them. Basically, it’s 122-mm caliber or more… We collect a lot of fragments and shrapnel after each attack. We send most of them to different school war (ATO) museums as our children should know the truth about the situation in Eastern Ukraine.
After night shelling, our boys go out and “harvest a whole crop” of missile fragments and mortars. They often find strange-looking remains that look like debris from cluster bombs.”
“The attacks usually begin after sunset and last all night. They start by shooting somewhere nearby, and then begin pounding our positions. But, sometimes they start hitting us in the middle of the day… shelling from mortars and BMPs. Well, I’ll tell you one thing. There’s no way they can undermine our spirit or intimidate us. If we leave our positions, it’s to move forward and liberate Ukraine from this plague called the “Russian world”.”
Andriy made a conscious and deliberate choice when he decided to enlist in the Armed Forces. Two years ago, his passport was on the table, his suitcase was packed and he was ready to go to Poland. But, in the last minute, Andriy decided to stay… he couldn’t leave his home and his country in such a difficult moment. Personally, he feels that running away would be tantamount to treason… and real men don’t behave that way. Andriy says there are many men in his division that have returned to the front for a second time. Their choice is deliberate, and this means that Ukraine has a strong and reliable shield to protect it from its enemies.
Photos by Taras Hren
Mobile Media Group OTU “Mariupol”
