FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
At the age of 25, men in Ukraine are subject to compulsory military service. The army urgently needs more soldiers. A program for young men aged 18 to 24 offers bonuses to lure them to the front lines...
Yuriy gets angry. "Your rifle is not a doll. Hold it straight and run," the 42-year-old drill sergeant, wearing sunglasses, scolds the confused, overweight 19-year-old.
Then the teenager marches forward, carrying his backpack on his back. His forehead is covered in sweat, which seems to be pouring freely under his helmet and vest on this hot day, after a tiring climb up a hill not far from the front lines in Donbas.
"Stop," Yuriy curses. "Your shoulder and rifle should be in line," the veteran says, and quickly demonstrates it, pushing the butt of his automatic rifle to his shoulder, aiming it at an imaginary enemy, and moving forward through the tall grass, past the bushes, as silently as possible. His gun is always ready, his index finger never far from the trigger. "That's how it should be, lad," he tells the recruit.
"They still have a lot of work to do. Their survival at the front depends on it." Yuriy and a group of equally experienced comrades are teaching 20 recruits the art of war. This is their third course. The training lasts a total of three months. At the age of 25, men in Ukraine are generally subject to military conscription. However, everyone in this group is younger. They are part of a Ministry of Defense program designed to encourage young men up to the age of 24 to volunteer for military service.
The Russian attack on Ukraine began on the night of February 24. The US then reportedly offered Zelensky help to escape. Zelensky refused, and he and his government remained in Kiev, even as Russian troops advanced on the capital. The AP news agency reported Zelensky's response: "I need ammunition, not a car to transport me." Since then, he has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Kiev needs more soldiers for the war in Ukraine: bonuses lure them to the front
This is possible from the age of 18. Participation in the program offers government bonuses or the opportunity to study for free later. Those who commit for a year receive the equivalent of over 20,000 euros. If the young soldiers prove themselves on the front lines, they receive further bonuses. The longer the commitment, the more they benefit: cheap loans to buy a house and, after a year, the right to travel abroad. In general, anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 can only leave the country with permission. However, soldiers on leave from the front are occasionally granted permission to travel abroad.
The campaign was born out of necessity. Hundreds of thousands of people volunteered for the army, especially at the beginning of the full-scale Russian occupation. Now, more than three and a half years later, soldiers are nowhere to be found. The patriotic moment of 2022 is long gone. Mobilization is progressing slowly. In some cases, men of military age are being recruited, not necessarily voluntarily, directly from the streets. Recruiters are often positioned at checkpoints and bus stations. Reliable sources indicate that even the rush for the “youth program” has been limited.
It's different for Sasha. He says he would have been drafted even without the bonus. At the beginning of the occupation, he fled the fighting in Germany with his sister and mother. "Berlin is good, but I couldn't stay there. The Russians are killing our people, destroying our cities and villages. I want to defend my country," says the 18-year-old. Sasha would need another six months to finish school. He decided not to wait. Barely an adult, he returned to Ukraine.
Deadly drones and "cruel" war
Sasha gives the impression of being friendly and measured, a young man who thinks before he speaks. Then, a short pause before the next exercise: Sasha squins into the sun. A Kalashnikov rests on his thigh, unloaded; he sits on the grass, leaning on his elbows. There is a smell of the forest and fresh earth dug aside to surround the entrance to a bunker. In a few weeks, most of Sasha's daily life will likely take place in such a bunker. On the front lines.
"A relative of mine is fighting on the front lines. He showed me on the internet how cruel war is. About the deadly drones, the artillery fire, the many casualties. Still, I want to serve," the young man says. But his mother is terrified. She couldn't stop him. "Even my German friends couldn't believe it when I told them my decision. They may not understand my motives, but they support me," he says.
Pastaj ai tregon se si e dëgjoi audio-librin "All Quiet on the Western Front" në telefonin e tij inteligjent. "Më preku thellë. Njëherë na u desh të shkarkonim armë nga një kamion që u përkiste ushtarëve të vrarë. Kjo më kujtoi romanin, i cili fliste për uniformat e të rënëve", thotë ai me mendime. "Jam i vetëdijshëm për rrezikun ndaj të cilit ekspozohemi kur bëhemi ushtarë". Raportet e para për viktima tashmë po vijnë nga kurset e mëparshme.
Të lodhur nga lufta
Kryebashkiaku i Kievit, Vitali Klitschko, i tha gazetës Bild se populli i Ukrainës është jashtëzakonisht i lodhur nga lufta dhe theksoi nevojën për negociata me Rusinë. Si rezultat i luftës, e cila ka vazhduar për gati tre vjet e gjysmë, "të gjithë në shtetin tonë, në vendin tonë, janë të lodhur nga kjo luftë", tha Klitschko.
Ai mbështet një "zgjidhje diplomatike" me Rusinë që nuk përjashton cedimet territoriale. "Për fat të keq, ne kemi paguar një çmim të madh për këtë luftë: jetën e patriotëve tanë, ushtarëve tanë, qytetarëve tanë." I pyetur në lidhje me kërkesat ruse për cedimin e territorit ukrainas, Klitschko tha se në fund të fundit, Presidenti Volodymyr Zelenskyy duhet t'i përgjigjet kësaj pyetjeje.
Mënyra se si djemtë ulen bashkë të kujton Remarque-un. Ata kanë karaktere kaq të larmishme. Janë tre miqtë më të mirë që vazhdimisht qëndrojnë të lidhur me njëri-tjetrin. Ata u rritën në të njëjtën pallat, dy prej të cilëve jetonin me gjyshërit e tyre si jetimë. Pastaj është Bogdani, 22-vjeçari që ka përfunduar studimet e gazetarisë. "Sigurisht që bonusi është një arsye pse jam këtu tani. Por nuk është e vetmja arsye," thotë ai me zë të ulët. "Pjesa më e vështirë nuk është stërvitja. Është e vështirë për mua ta kuptoj: Nuk jam më një individ, para së gjithash; jam një ushtar."
Në frontin e Ukrainës për shkak të parave
Pranë tij rri ulur një shok që humbi vëllanë e tij. "Prandaj jam këtu," thotë ai me vendosmëri. Tre metra larg, Vitali mbështetet në një trung peme. Ai vjen nga një periferi e Kievit. "Mësova të luftoj atje. Është një vend i vështirë." Buzëqeshja e tij zbulon një rresht dhëmbësh të përparmë artificialë. Ai është Metuselahu i grupit, pasi sapo ka mbushur 25 vjeç. Vitali ka punuar tashmë si kasap, punëtor ndërtimi dhe për një shërbim pakosh. "U pranova në program kur isha 24 vjeç. Të them të drejtën, nuk doja të fshihesha dhe të ikja nga policia kur isha 25 vjeç. Do të preferoja të merrja bonusin dhe të shkoja në front vullnetarisht," thotë ai.
Më në fund, Danieli e plotëson rrethin. Ai është i gjatë dhe i hollë, me sy blu të ndritshëm. Të gjithë këtu e quajnë "patriot". "Për mua, është detyra ime të shërbej", thotë ai. Ashtu si Sasha, ai aspiron një karrierë si ushtar. "Ukrainës do t'i duhet një ushtri e fortë për një kohë të gjatë, të gjatë. Kjo është ajo që ndodh kur ke Rusinë si fqinj."
Then suddenly a fighter jet roars over the area. On the hill opposite, recruits throw themselves onto the grass or behind fences. Terrified faces can be seen here too under the trees. It is not the first time that military training areas have been targeted by Russian attacks. The plane turns. "It's one of ours, the Russians always fly in pairs," shouts a non-commissioned officer. But for a moment, the war was very close to the recruits. Soon, it always will be.
The war has taken root in Kostiantynivka. Russian drones are chasing cars through the practically deserted city center. The church in the center is badly damaged, the train station a pile of rubble, and houses are damaged by impact craters. Life has drained from the city. Only a few residents remain, and the defenders.
Andrii is one of them. The veteran with his death-defying tattooed upper body, his bushy black beard and his friendly smile listens to the roar of artillery from the nearby front. "The problem here is the Russian suicide drones," says the 34-year-old.
Andrii was recruited in 2022, right at the beginning of the invasion. In 2023, a mine tore off his left leg. He continues to fight, even with a prosthesis. He has also heard about the program for young soldiers. "If they volunteer, I think it's the right thing to do. They are needed," he explains. Andrii has a six-year-old son.
"If he were 18 now, I wouldn't keep him. I would be very proud of him, just as I would fear for his life. But I'm fighting here so that one day he doesn't have to do this." /Adapted from Fr.de/
Lini një Përgjigje