Ukraine: Following a sense of duty – or following fear?

Near Kyiv, young Ukrainians are given fast training for military action. Many act out of a sense of duty and outrage. But not everyone feels capable of going to the front lines.

It’s still the thunder of thunder that roars here – soon it will be the thunder of artillery for them. The field near Kyiv is a training ground for those going to the front.

Soldiers simulate how a comrade steps into a mine. They tie off the leg to stop the bleeding. And wrap the man in foil to keep him warm until paramedics arrive.

A soldier named Anton is about to head east. He’s preparing for that now, mentally too, he says – although it’s actually not necessary: ​​”I’m motivated enough to make sure that the war doesn’t get as far as here, to my child.”

Volunteers can be deployed at the front

After the Russian attack, Anton helped defend his city as a member of the Territorial Defence, the army’s volunteer organization. Until recently, this organization had a clear mission: to arm regions in the country against attackers. Now the volunteers can also be deployed at the front, thanks to a change in the law.

For Anton there is no question that he will go – despite all the fears that would naturally arise under fire: “Only a stupid person would not be afraid,” he says.

But, he goes on to say, given the choice of just sitting around and waiting or stopping the enemy, “then of course I choose to go.” So he wants to try to “eradicate the evil that has come to our country.”

Those who are able-bodied must be ready

Since the beginning of the war, many in Ukraine have volunteered to defend their country. They are then trained for use on the front lines. All other men of military age must at least stand by. They are forbidden to leave Ukraine.

The General Staff wanted to go further last week. He wanted to oblige the men to report to the authorities if they only wanted to leave their region. There was an outcry on social media. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy then called the military leadership back.

Exhausted soldiers are to be relieved

The move suggests the military is worried about not having enough personnel; Soldiers that you can quickly send to the front line to reinforce the troops there and relieve the tired soldiers.

But not everyone is keen on that. “I’m not a warrior, I’m a civilian!”, says 25-year-old Sergiy. He is sitting in a café in Kyiv, he does not want to give his real name. The horror of spring when the Russian troops were only a few kilometers from Kyiv is still in his bones.

Every time there is an air raid, the fear rises in him again. He understands that the country urgently needs soldiers, he says. But he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a warrior.

Fear of a subpoena

Nor does Sergiy believe that express military training is enough. You can see how hundreds of people are buried every day: “You understand that you are risking your life.” Everyone is worried, he observed, and some people even stayed at home, didn’t go to the cinema, the theater or public places.

They would be afraid of having the letter pressed into their hands by soldiers – the summons to the district military replacement office, where their fitness for military service will be determined.

The women were afraid too. On his smartphone, he shows a video on YouTube showing women in a village standing in front of soldiers and successfully preventing them from recruiting their men.

Outlook with worries

But of course those who set off also worry. Just like Jarik, 31 years old. A few months ago he defended Kyiv as a volunteer in the territorial defense. Now he’s almost on his way to the Donbass and knows: “The situation there is difficult, very difficult.”

In conversations with soldiers, he hears cities being bombed “day and night”. “Where the Russians go, only ruins remain,” he says, adding: “Our boys there need help! The fighting spirit makes you angry.”