- Posted by One India, last updated on 16 March, 2022

International

bbc-BBC Hindi

Just a week ago I met a group of young people who are volunteering at a center in Kiev to fight against Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Most of these were teenagers, who had not yet left school for a long time. He told me that after three days of basic training, he would go to the front line in battle or very close to it.

19-year-old Maxim Lutsik, a biology student, tells me that he was not bothered about trying to become a soldier in the army after less than a week of training. Because, he has spent five years in Scout, there he has also taken training in weapon handling.

He was 10 years old when the separatist war started in Ukraine in 2014, Russia was sponsoring these separatists.

To join the army, Maxim went with his 18-year-old friend Dmitry Kisilenko, who was studying economics at the university.

These recruits were some of the teenagers who had now decided not to be a kid, laughed loudly at a joke so as not to look nervous and presented themselves as a brave man.

Some of them were wearing pads on their knees, which looked very small and looked like they had brought skateboards on their 12th birthday. Some had sleeping bags and one had a yoga mat.

“Looks like some friends are going to the festival”

While he was waiting for his bus to go to the training base, it looked like some friends were leaving for the festival. But the gun in the hands of these teenagers was telling a different story. All of them were given a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

I was in touch with some volunteers including Dmitry and Maxim. This week I went to the post where he was posted on the east end of the city. Here they were given uniforms, as well as armor and pad-helmet were also provided. These boys are trying to give the best of their basic training.

Dimitro told me, “I’ve gotten used to my gun. I’ve learned to shoot and what to do in battle, as well as the things that are important in the fight against Russia.”

Maxim seems more alert and serious.

“My confidence has increased than before, because we have come to know about many methods here, in martial arts, in medicine and where and how to do on the battlefield, all these things.”

Here the only question in everyone’s mind is whether the fight is going on in the direction of Kiev. “It’s certainly possible,” says Dmitry. We just have to stop them here, because if they reach Kiev, the war may be over.

What do these volunteers think about the family?

These teenagers are from the same town near the Russian border, which is being shot, their families are still there. I asked the boys what their parents think what you guys are doing. Maxim jokingly said that his mother had told him to stay in the shelter and volunteer to cook. Maxim had not told the family about his deployment as the family would get upset.

Dimitri’s family members know what they are doing. Dmitry started joining this fight by volunteering to make Molotov cocktails. A few days later, Dimitro told his father over the phone that he had decided to join the Territorial Army. His father had said at that time not to try so hard to become a hero.

Dimitri says that his parents are proud of what he is doing. He was looking happy. I asked him what is going to happen next, what is he afraid of. Dmitry said, “Not much, but there is a feeling of fear in man, of course, if I think deeply, I am a little scared, because no one wants to die, even if this death is for the country.” Ho. That’s why death is not an option for all of us.

Dmitry and Maxim chat about their future dreams, have fun with friends, finish their studies. His family must be praying that no one takes away his children’s dreams, his energy and even his life.

Just a few kilometers away, on the other side of the front line, there is a young soldier fighting from the Russian side, which is not accessible to foreign journalists. There are many of them who do not even know where they have been sent, most of the youth are sent to fight in the war.

I can say with certainty that many of those Russian young men have the same hopes as Dmitry and Maxim. One difference could be a lack of motivation. But when the other party cannot report, then they cannot say for sure.

Two youths from Ukraine, who have turned from students to army personnel, have returned to their checkpoints. The Profession Army is only a few miles away from them and is taking on the Russian army. But if the Russian army comes forward, Maxim and Dimitro, like other volunteers, will also go into the firing, helping Molotov get the box of cocktails.

If all this does not work, then the NATO military alliance is giving thousands of anti-tank weapons to the battle.

So in Kiev everyone is preparing for war, soldiers in uniform and civilians without uniform, volunteers like Maxim and Dmitry who are ready to fight against Russia.

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