Another sort of men.

Another sort of men.

Today I spoke at the German brigade. It was a tremendous honor and privilege to speak there. An even greater privilege will be speaking there again this Thursday. Since we live in a “pics or it didn't happen” era, you'll have to take my word for it - publishing photos from there still needs to be cleared.

I spoke on behalf of my men, I spoke for my men, I spoke about my men.

I spoke for those who cannot today. I spoke for those who can no longer today. I spoke for those who will never be able again. A lump in the throat.

But. But there is another side to the war, another sort of men.

Different men. Men swimming across rivers and streams, fleeing their own country.

The soldier with whom I touched on this uncomfortable topic laughs on me: what, you didn't know?

“They swim across rivers. Tens of thousands of men pay between six and ten thousand dollars, to be taken across a river into Romania or Hungary, well, about a million people have already done it,” the man says it harsh and swears. “From my village, which has about fifteen hundred people, I know for certain, that around twenty men left that way. Well, they already had their jobs abroad, so they simply took off like that: some to Germany, some to Latvia”. The soldier is not afraid to touch on not only an unpleasant, but a deeply painful topic. “Deserters” - we both agree on what they should be called. “Yes, deserters. A huge number leave with forged documents. And such one, he is not just a plain deserter, he is also a fraudster, who forged documents. And if he forged documents here, it means, he'll forge documents in your country too, and he will get involved in all kinds of other schemes. With time, Europe will start thinking, that all Ukrainians are like that. I think Interpol could be brought in for such cases, it's no longer just our internal problem; it's already becoming a problem for all of Europe. They buy certificates for supposedly some kind of psychiatric diseases, then freely get into cars or buses and cross borders”.

Honestly, I'm surprised by where our conversation has gone. Surprised, but also proud of him, my soldier. Proud, because speaking openly about such things requires first and foremost a firm spine and courage, the ability to see the whole picture and to think ahead. “And if we look at it from a man's, not only citizens perspective?” I keep asking. “Well, on one hand, such a person, isn't necessarily needed by us here either. Someone who runs, who pays such crazy money for it. He would be better off, spending that money and buying himself ammunition, a rifle, and joining the army. Besides, once you join the army, you also get a decent, normal salary, if we're comparing it to the rest of Ukraine. No if we're comparing, the salary is even quite large.”

I thank the Media Support Fund for supporting the post series “War in Ukraine: The Gap Between the Military and Society”