The Ukrainian “Sergei” explains that soldiers recruited into the armed forces fighting against Russia are required to pay for weapons, fuel, ammunition and protective equipment, even though these have already been donated by NATO countries.
In the war against Russia, there are five lines of battle, and the first two are the deadliest. They have to pay their commanders if they do not want to fight on the front line. For every line of battle the soldiers wish to move back, it costs extra money.
Video interview:
“Many people in Ukraine are poor, and corruption is rife,“ says Sergej. A majority, perhaps 70 %, receive a pension of between 200 and 300 USD a month, which is barely enough to cover food and healthcare.
Sergej explains that it is also possible to avoid being forced into the war by paying doctors to issue false medical certificates.
No ordinary Ukrainian wants this war, says Sergej, adding that Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to end the war and that the Ukrainian people do not want Zelensky as their leader.
NewsVoice has previously reported that Ukrainians are being forcibly conscripted on an ongoing basis into the war against Russia. The front line is known as the ‘meat grinder’, where thousands of Ukrainians are dying every week.
In May 2024, Ukraine introduced a law to mobilize hundreds of thousands of recruits to replenish the ranks of an army that has been decimated in the fighting against better-equipped Russian forces, reports the RTBF.
Since the law was introduced, young men have been called up, captured, and sent to mobilization centers. Brigade commanders, such as Vassilina Nakonetchna from the 49th Battalion, are trying to find “fresh blood” – the men who are in the best physical shape and most motivated.
In a 2023 interview, she explains that at the start of the war, in February 2022, her unit consisted solely of volunteers. Today, they are all “dead or wounded”.
Vassilina said that the training recruits receive at the mobilization centers was “completely useless”. She also laments that many lack the necessary motivation.
“We understand that some don’t want to be here. They had a life, a family. After almost three years of war, everyone is exhausted”.
Among the recruits are people from all walks of life: musicians, chefs, bricklayers, and prisoners.
Interview, video, and text: Torbjörn Sassersson
Sergei is a pseudonym
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