Some people watch the war from the trenches, others – from aside. How can we hear each other? How can we understand? A sincere dialogue with yourself about life during the war – before 2022 and after.
Oleksandr Yabchanka – Pulsating Land
We are living in the same world, but we observe this world with different eyes. Therefore, every observer has a different worldview. Today, a difficult discussion between people with different world views about mobilisation started in society because some people watch the war from the trench, while others watch it from aside. Moreover, our personal worldview is not a constant value but a variable. My worldview has also changed over the past ten years.
Therefore, I would like to have a discussion with a person who has a different worldview, i.e., with myself 10 years ago. Thus, participants in the discussion are as follows: me, Oleksandr, call sign Yabchanka, senior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, commander of the 2nd platoon, Honour company, Dmytro Kotsiubailo “Da Vinci Wolves” Battalion. The other participant is also me, but from 12 years ago, living nowadays. Oleksandr Yabchanka, paediatrician, assistant at the Department of Paediatrics, and an organiser of fiery parties in the mountains.
I am grateful to you that we fought off the russians and that I can feel safe in my own country.
Are you sure we did fight off?
No, of course, I understand the war is still in progress, but I guess that the worst is already behind us.
Unfortunately, I think this is only what you feel. Because nothing has really changed since that time. We have the enemy – the russian federation, whose aim still stands – to destroy Ukrainian statehood. In places where this enemy gains power, i.e., in the occupied territories, the hell comes. What they are doing there is genocide, by definition. The sad examples are Irpin, Bucha, Borodianka and, unfortunately, many other cities in Ukraine. The more they go to the West, the wilder they will become because, in their perverted imagination, the more to the West it is – the more “nazis” there are. Therefore, I am afraid if we lose, the worst is yet to come.
But do you assume we can lose?
Well, think for yourself. On 24 February 2022, a group of 180,000 soldiers invaded Ukraine. Now, more than 400 thousand are in our territory. Our enemy has much larger mobilisation resources and is much less sensitive to human losses.
You know, I imagined the situation at the frontline to be quite different now. I thought that their elite troops, those 180,000, were fought off by us back last year, cutting-edge military equipment was burnt down, and now there are only mobilised soldiers on old tanks, so their defence line is about to crumble.
Unfortunately, my friend, this is just your imagination. In a war of this scale, numbers and technologies are critical. To replace those we liquidated, they mobilised fresh “cannon fodder,” and there are no prerequisites for them to run out of it any time soon. So, in terms of this parameter, they have resources for years. As far as the equipment and weapons are concerned, let me quote the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi: “We should not underestimate Russia. It suffered great losses and spent a lot of ammunition. But it will keep having the advantage in terms of weapons, equipment, missiles and ammunition for a long time. Its defence industry is growing its manufacturing volumes.” The source is more than reputable, isn’t it? To recall, at the present moment, we totally and completely depend on our allies in technical and economic terms. And where is the guarantee that when the power changes, particularly in the USA, we will have something to fight with?
It is harsh. What do you think is awaiting us?
I am afraid that everyone will fight, and all will fight till the end. The question is, where will they fight, and what will the end be like?
It sounds very pessimistic and somewhat manipulative. What do you mean by “everyone”? I am a paediatrician; I treat children, and there won’t be much good of me in the trenches. Frankly speaking, I don’t really want to go to the front line. After all, it is normal – not to want to be there.
Yes, it is quite normal. But, sorry to break it to you, there is not much choice. Let me explain what I said. Don’t forget that the elite troops which invaded Ukraine last year did not destroy themselves; they were fought off by the Ukrainian defenders at the cost of their health and, often, their lives. We experienced losses over these two years. For instance, no more than 20% of the battle-worth military was left of my unit, which had been in the battles since the start of the war. This doesn’t mean that everybody died: the majority dropped out because of injuries. However, among those 20% of battle-worthy who survived, it is difficult to find someone without injuries. I am having the third one now. Certainly, I will come back, but the injuries are getting the worst of me, and your luck has to end somewhere, too: sooner or later, with such dynamics, I will fail, too. I’m afraid the situation in other units is not much better. When we are finished, the state will come for you. You can escape, but, in this case, nobody will be able to replace us, the front line will collapse, and afterwards, another state will come for you, the aggressor state, the occupying state. Most likely, I will be dead by that time. And do you know what’s the most awful? When the occupier comes here, those alive will envy the dead.
Your metaphors are terrifying.
No metaphors, this is a historical fact. One hundred years ago, half a million army of Ukrainians came back home after World War I. It came back with weapons and battle experience. But they didn’t want to fight any longer for obvious reasons: they had already fought, they were tired, and they wanted others to fight. The government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, as the authorities of the democratic republic, believed that volunteers should fight for the republic, and those who didn’t want to could go home. So they went away home, the country was occupied by the Bolsheviks, and the soldiers who left home were dying of hunger fifteen years later, and some of them were forced to eat their own children. Do you realise the entirety of this tragedy? Refusing to resist as part of the army of our own state, we had been occupied by the aggressor state, and they starved millions to death. By the way, The Independent recently published information that Putin had been planning to cause famine in Ukraine after the occupation. A strange coincidence, isn’t it?
You know, when we studied Holodomor during history classes, I was sure that “Never Again” was true. But what you picture is an image of an inevitable end.
I said nothing about the inevitability. I just described the likely developments. And these likelihoods depend on us, first of all, on each of us. We need general mobilisation. I am not talking about mobilisation to trenches, it is not just about trenches, I am talking about mobilisation of society. To the best of our abilities and often – even beyond our abilities. If you can hold weapons in your hands, get ready because it is highly probable that you will have to fight with them. If you say that you are part of the economic front line, then fight. Fight at this frontline as if your life depends on it because your life does depend on it. I mean, unite with your comrades at the economic front and choose a brigade or at least a battalion that you will provide with everything they need. It is about arranging systematic support to the units because it will not happen by itself. This does not mean just donations to the Armed Forces; this means self-organisation and coordination of help for a specific battle unit. Because the more technological the battalion you support is, the higher is the likelihood that we, soldiers in the trenches, will not be finished or will be finished not as quickly as without your financial support. Because if we are finished, you will have to swap the economic front for the trench, and O wouldn’t really like this. And this concerns every citizen of our republic. We must wake up and go to bed with the thought of victory, and only then will we have the chance to attain it.
Look, I cannot take on the non-economic front, but I would come in handy as a medical professional.
Well, then rehearse the tactical medicine, and I will introduce you to the coolest medical service at the frontline – the Ulf.
