Ready for winter. Soldiers’ version

Kherson volunteers are not tired of helping the servicemen located on the territory of the oblast. Den has visited the border Kalanchak raion to find out the conditions in which our military men are serving in direct proximity to occupied Crimea. Actually on the eve of our visit the oblast state administration had gathered volunteers to coordinate further actions. According to the participants of the meeting, few people spoke to the point, but the representatives of the authorities didn’t miss the opportunity to tell that “everything is under their control and that the soldiers are maintained on a proper level.” Actually, to check these daring statements, we went to several positions. Of course, not empty-handed: we loaded cars with warm blankets, footwear, practical stuff, several sacks of potatoes and onions, etc.

“WE WILL OFFER STRONGER RESISTANCE IF WE ARE STRONG”

I was going in Andrii Daniv’s car. It was interesting for me to hear the opinion of a person who is involved in charity activity. Andrii is a sailor. He says that everyone who wants Ukraine to be a strong country must support the army. “This is a challenge of the time. I believe that we have been given this challenge to come out of this situation as winners, to become stronger,” Andrii contemplates. “Here in Kherson region we always have to be vigilant. There are no military actions here, it is hard to see how many latent separatists we have here who want Russia to come, but are afraid to raise their heads. We will offer stronger resistance if we are strong. And for this we need to help the army.”

In 1.5 hours we came to one of the posts near North Crimean Channel. There we met soldiers from Ternopil region. They said that their procurement is okay. They have food and clothes. Suddenly a serviceman in training shoes approached. Our volunteer was outraged, “What is this?” She brought warm high-quality army boots. The soldier was glad, he smiled and thanked. And his fellow added that he soon would try them on, because the guy is from a special unit, which is soon setting out for the Donbas.

“PEOPLE TRUST US. SO, WE CANNOT LET THEM DOWN”

The next stop is at the front line where the occupied territory can be seen. Here the situation is worse. The main problem is lack of wood and partially small stoves, but everything they do have was brought by volunteers. “We have a problem with building materials and firewood. Honestly, be it not for the people, I don’t know how we would be living here. And there has been no frost yet,” the senior lieutenant Oleksandr PIEPIN admits, “It is good that the government has supplied us with clothes. We have warm clothes for everyday use. I know that they have promised warm trailers, but for our extreme positions they would not be appropriate. We need serious dugouts, which would protect the soldiers in case of attack. We are building them, but we need more. Therefore we, again, need materials.” As soon as I asked if there is tension on the side of Crimea, we heard a typical rumble, but soon a helicopter emerged on the horizon. “Here’s the answer,” Oleksandr says, “This is a frequent thing. They are watching us, and we are watching them.” “So far everything is quiet, but without them it would have been calmer,” adds senior soldier Stanislav KOCHUBEI, painting his IFV, “But it’s okay, we will win Crimea back. The truth is on our side. We are ready for everything, the rest depends on God.”

The servicemen thanked us for the presents, which included fresh issues of Den They took the press hastily, because they don’t have any Internet connection, and they want to read the latest news from the eastern front. Every soldier has a story of his own. Most of them were mobilized during the second and third waves. “I had been on a regular army service, and now I have received the call-up papers. I told my family that I was not going to get out of the army. My father tried to talk me out of this, but later he understood that my position was firm. I have taken the vow, and now I am serving for my dear people, friends, someone’s children,” says senior field engineer, formerly – a barman of one of Kyiv restaurants Maksym MAIZUS, “We can see from the volunteers that people trust us. So, we cannot let them down. If something begins, I know what to do; I know who will cover me, and whom I must cover. I’m confident in my fellows. The conditions are not simple, but this is not a resort, we are aware of our responsibility.”

Not far from there we visited another brigade. Nobody tells the title and location because of well-known reasons. Some of them have recently returned from the ATO area. The difference between them and those who haven’t been there is evident. They don’t come close to us. One serviceman explained half-jokingly: “What if you have an explosive belt.” However, we soon got acquainted with one another, handed out the presents, and had a talk. They say, it only seems that it is calm here, Russian drones are flying above. They have recently shot down one. The volunteers wrote down the needs of this unit. It has recently been formed to reinforce the border, so construction materials are needed there the most.

“I WANT US TO HAVE A CHANCE FOR SUCCESSFUL REFORMS”

On the block post near the village Stavky we stopped to talk with the guard. The unit has recently been rotated. “All units should be filled up with special divisions, we need more machinery, instruments, and special equipment, so that we could strongly reinforce our position, and could defend in case of attack,” says junior lieutenant Viacheslav MUSIIENKO, “As for the clothes, there are some questions here. Half of my platoon has received reefing jackets, the rest has not, because the sizes were too small. Of course, the commander-in-chief does not know about these details, he gets reports that we are provided with everything 100 percent. But the reality is different. In winter I was standing in Maidan, we wanted to change the old system, people were enlightened. Be it not for the Kremlin vampires, I think we would have cleaned Ukraine from the ‘old’ people. This time scum has gotten to the new parliament. Nonetheless I want us to have a chance for successful reforms. Therefore it is important for us to stop the external enemy, crush down the internal one, and work on the economy.”