A York man who left his job in hospitality to fight with Ukraine forces against the Russians has spoken of the constant bombardment of the country.
The volunteer, who we aren’t naming for his safety, reflected on his experiences as Ukraine marked Independence Day and six months since Russia invaded.
He spoke to Ed Matthews, who gave up his job to as a York nightclub photographer to help refugees in the war-torn country.
The man, who we are calling James, turned 33 on the day Russian forces Ukraine on 24 February.
At the time he was working in hospitality in York city centre.
James decided he had to do something.
“We all saw the footage of the opening days of the war this year, and we all saw the horrific pictures of people leaving their homes because of artillery strikes,” he said.
“And I couldn’t sit back in my normal day-to-day job and do nothing. I wanted to come out and support in any way I could.”
He headed out there and has been “working alongside the Ukrainian military since I arrived in the country helping them stop the Russian invasion in Ukraine”.
Day and night bombardment
He told Ed: “I’ve been in central Ukraine from the beginning. And then I headed east where there is artillery fire throughout the day and night, small arms fire in a few conflicts, but the majority of it has been artillery fire.”
Even though people have seen the devastation in pictures and video footage, he said you can’t appreciate the scale of the destruction until you are there.
“Currently, as we’ve all seen in the media in Kyiv, now everyone’s living their day to day lives despite rockets flying over and hitting civilian targets,” James said.
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“But you go six hours on a train or a car journey to the east or the south and there is constant bombardment. It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen or heard before.”
What do his friends and family think of what he’s doing?
“When I can talk to my friends back home they constantly tell me how proud they are of me.
“But I just simply reply, it’s, it’s not me that they should be proud of. It’s the Ukrainian citizens and soldiers out here who are constantly fighting.
“I can return home whenever I want. But they have to stay here either as refugees because it’s difficult to leave the country or to continue fighting against Russian invasion.”
James has no plans to return to York any time soon.
“When I came to the country, I didn’t know how long I’d be spending out here. I thought it’d be only for a short time.
“But since then, I’ve witnessed with my own eyes how much of a positive impact foreign volunteers have been in the country. So it could be until the end of the war, but we all don’t know.”
So what’s his message for people back home in York?
“the war in Ukraine is still happening. And Russia isn’t going to stop anytime soon. That’s why I’m out here with fellow volunteers. Slava Ukraini [“Glory to Ukraine”]!”
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