Dream about victory

Several years ago I had a similar dream. Planes and helicopters were flying above my town, above the house, in the field. They were either falling or making virtuoso turns, and I could not manage to make a video recording. It turns out, dreams become reality, and since spring above my Svatov house there have been either fighters, or helicopters that are flying so low that the leaves in the trees start trembling from their propellers. I did not see in my dreams tanks and armored vehicles, but still there are plenty of them. They are angrily rattling with their engines and leave white traces of tracks in the asphalt. But one night I had a dream that helicopters appeared above Luhansk and paratroopers landed. In my dream I was scared: who are they? I tried my luck and shouted, “Glory to Ukraine!” “Glory to heroes!” I heard in reply from the people in balaclavas. That was a pleasant dream of the end of            spring. Our people were in Luhansk. Maybe this is a deception that it was since then that I have a feeling that we must be patient. We should focus, not despair in any case because of the disgrace and grief that are taking place in the east of Ukraine. The enemy that was not defeated in time is concentrated in the raion of Slovianoserbsk, where a dozen of their tanks are located. Our soldiers complain: how can we wage war with equipment made in the 1970s? It seems that news appeared on the first agreements of Ukraine with NATO member countries concerning the supplies of the new equipment, but there are fears that the equipment we will receive won’t be new. For Europe the conflict in the east of Ukraine may become a good reason to rearm. But these are the reflections on a couch, so to say. Everyone understands that it is impossible to build a wall between Ukraine and the aggressor with the help of hats. Likewise, the idea of the “Chinese wall,” which should protect us from the Moscow horde should be implemented not only in concrete structures and pits, but also accumulation of our own arms and external agreements. Moving towards membership in the North Atlantic Alliance belongs to the latter.

By the way, what concerns the horde. For several times in the social media Kazakhs expressed offence by our comparison of Russia to the horde. “Don’t associate Moscow fascists with such a historical phenomenon as the Horde,” they ask and report that Nazarbayev has taken extra security measures on the border with Russia. We received the same reports from Belarus. The leaders of the countries, who may be diplomatic and careful in public, are making steps to strengthen their defensive capacity. It is clear for everyone that it is too dangerous to have a neighbor like Putin, and the future of their countries depends not thus much on common integration, but on a strong shield. Every piece they will have to eat at the same table with Moscow will be for its neighbors a swallow of antidote in the way of securing the basis of defense.

But this is too little for building a wall between us and the aggressor. The wall based on betrayal and helpless instability won’t stand. A soldier of Kyiv’s 12th Territorial Defense Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tells me angrily, “For three months we were fighting for Luhansk, and now they are making agreements to betray us? What did my comrades die for?” He speaks these rebellious words and can’t believe them.

“We are ready to fight. We as volunteers could have left this war long ago, but we remained steadfast to the last!” he speaks with anger. He says that the death of soldiers and lies about the war are going hand in hand. “Here all soldiers are heroes,” Dmytro says, “They have gone through what few people go through.” These people are Kyivites. They were standing on Vesela Hora, Krasny Yar near Luhansk, they were attacked from the rear when they attempted to take the oblast center, and the enemy made a devastating blow on Dmytrivka when there was a maximum concentration of the soldiers and no commanders. The soldier does not blame anyone, he tells the facts, and asks about conclusions that suggest themselves.

Disorder remains the main problem at war. The soldiers had to stand with small arms against the bandits armed with Russian heavy weapons. They were standing to death, to the last. The volunteers have to provide the servicemen with armored vests and helmets. “Without them we would be defenseless,” Dmytro explains and lists four demands to the leadership in his native Kyiv: this is the judicial address and regular place of dislocation of the unit (it turns out that the battalions are enough ephemeral phenomenon in terms of defining them as a subject, which sometimes even hinders recognition of a serviceman an ATO participant!); a clear definition of the functional duties of a battalion; allotment of corresponding weapons to these functional duties, and providing of high-quality training of the skills of working with this equipment.

Dmytro says these demands were written with blood and recalls his comrades who were killed. And there are many wounded, shell-shocked, and disabled for the whole life. It would seem that these are axiomatic demands that should be fulfilled from the beginning. But what can be said in this regard, when on an elementary level a rear camp, which is supposed to be set in a matter of an hour in any place, in fact was equipped for weeks. On the one hand, this is war, and a soldier cannot demand perfect life conditions or ideal functioning of the entire system in such a critical situation. But there are basic things without which it is impossible to win. And current truce, no matter how conditional it is, should be used to improve all these components of the military organism to provide the defense of the territories that are under the threat of bandits’ counter attack, and after all liberation of the entire Ukrainian land from the pro-Russian scum.

The day which used to be a holiday for Luhansk is approaching, the City’s Day. Every year in the central Theater Square, between the Theater of Drama and the Lenin monument, thousands of people, mostly youth, used to gather to celebrate this holiday. The firework began at 21:00. Its rattle was pleasantly exciting, its flashes created a festive mood. After the summer of attacks there is a different attitude to pyrotechnics in Luhansk. When someone starts to beat carpets, people can’t stand it and abuse the admirers of cleanness – it is not a proper time to do this. What can be said about fireworks? Luhansk has never seen such a Day of the City. There is litter where there used to be cafes, there are ruins where there used to be business, there is a stinking cloud of Sovok idiocy, prevailing in the east, where there used to be plans and hope. What are the bandits afraid in Luhansk? They are afraid not only of the clearing by Ukrainian army and clashes with Russian contractors, who after all are supposed to become their executioners. They are afraid of the return of those who own the destroyed plants and cafes, devastated business and plans cut to the root. Because those who own the business understand pretty well who was shooting from mortars at Luhansk. Sometimes they know them by sight. What should we be afraid of after temporary losing of native homes and cities? Disorder and betrayal. Because we have enough heroes who are ready to defend the country under scorching hot sun and devastating Grad attacks. Real heroes who are able to make a dream about victory come true. Not only are they able to win, but they also are able to revive the state. And God forbid office people with briefcases and stamps from betraying them.