“I was ashamed to fight for Ukraine for money”. Story of a volunteer in a ten-year war
The word “volunteer” has a great meaning for him. He stood in the forefront of the country's defense, expecting nothing in return, while behind him he heard sarcastic phrases like “Why are you going there?” and “This is some kind of fictional war of yours”.
He calls himself a nationalist from birth and a follower of the UPA. He says he has been in the minority all his life. Nevertheless, he is now very happy that, albeit at a great cost, everything has changed. Finally, Ukrainians pay tribute to his ideological leader Stepan Bandera.
Stepan Kovalchyk, 40, from Mykolaiv region, is a dedicated fighter with the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. He recently realized that he has been at war for almost a quarter of his life. But only two years ago he started receiving a paycheck for it. “I got corrupt,” hesays, laughing.
On the occasion of the Day of Ukrainian Volunteer, hromadske talked to Stepan about the path from outlaw status to joining the Armed Forces, about the transformation of the word “volunteer” over 10 years, and the fact that this concept now covers not only “people who voluntarily went to war”.
“We are like the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but wild”
After the Maidan, Stepan joined the Right Sector. He wanted to go to the front, but he was assigned to manage a cell in his native district in the Mykolaiv region. But two years later, in 2016, he managed to be recruited. He joined the Volyn separate tactical group of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army as an ordinary soldier. He stayed there until the start of the full-scale invasion.
During all this time, there were many offers from different brigades to sign a contract and become a soldier in the Armed Forces. But I could not betray our glorious Cossack traditions. In our battalion, we joke that we are like the Armed Forces, but wild.Stepan Kovalchyk, a fighter of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army
The units of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army led by Dmytro Yarosh were not officially subordinated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine before the full-scale invasion. However, according to Stepan Kovalchyk, they always acted in full cooperation with the command of the Armed Forces.
The advantage of volunteer service outside the official army was the possibility of respite, while the disadvantage was the lack of support.
“In Marinka, for example, we had a piece of the frontline that we begged from the brigade commanders who were stationed there. But we never engaged in arbitrariness. We could plan some operations ourselves and get them approved by the ‘top’, and, on the contrary, we could refuse to do something if we saw that it was a utopia that would lead to the loss of our guys. Usually, we spent a month and a half at the front and then two or three months at home,” says Stepan.
According to him, the supply then relied on volunteers and what you could get yourself. Sometimes, brigade commanders who were standing next to each other shared something.
“Now they thank us, but before they used to say that we were bothering them”
A few months before the full-scale invasion, Stepan's unit left Marinka. He admits: “We were exhausted.” The lack of support in the society was also a factor.
“I will speak from my own experience. Now, when people thank me on the street in the Donetsk or Zaporizhzhia regions, I often recall the times when I was returning from a rotation in Marinka by train. And, of course, gunpowder, those lubricants… I must have stunk. And I often heard people on that train saying in Russian, ‘How long will they keep coming here, they're bothering, they'll never calm down, it's their fault’,” says Stepan.
I can’t hide the truth. I heard it at home and from my neighbors. They said, “Why are you going there, when will you calm down, no one needs it, leave Donetsk alone, it's some kind of fictional war.” I heard this all the time.Stepan Kovalchyk, a fighter of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army
At the time, volunteer fighters were virtually outlawed, with no social guarantees or benefits.
“Back then, we didn't even have the combatant status. We were not recognized. We received it when the Verkhovna Rada passed a separate law,” Stepan admits.
The law that “recognized” volunteers and allowed them to receive combatant status was adopted only in December 2019.
“We did not need permission to defend our country”
From 2016 to 2022, Stepan Kovalchyk and his comrades fought exclusively and voluntarily.
You know, when people asked me why I didn't go anywhere and get paid, I said: “Well, guys, I wouldn't have let myself be! I'm ashamed to fight for Ukraine for money.”Stepan Kovalchyk, a fighter of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army
Answering the question of what he lived on, he says that in 2021 he even managed to start a veteran agricultural business. He created a project and won a grant from the Canadian government, which provided funds for four greenhouses and a fuel briquette production line. But they only managed to work for one season. A full-scale war broke out.
“We created a veteran cooperative in my village of Domanivka, and we even sold radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers… And on February 24, almost all of us went to the front,” thesoldier shares his memories.
Since then, the history of the Arei separate battalion, where Stepan is currently serving, began. On February 24, he and his 13 fellow soldiers set off in the direction of Kherson. Later, the Ukrainian Volunteer Army's combat group grew to a hundred.
“We were in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region. In the beginning, we were the only ones who knew what war was and could hold weapons. And we defended Voznesensk. Then we fought in the Kherson region,” says Stepan Kovalchyk.
We did not need permission from anyone to defend our country. We took trophy weapons, destroyed orcs, and did our job as best we could.Stepan Kovalchyk, a fighter of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army
Then the volunteers accepted the offer to be legalized, that is, to join the ranks of the Armed Forces. Since then, their battalion has officially been part of the 129th separate territorial defense brigade, although it remains formally under the leadership of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. In this way, virtually all units were legalized.
“And this is right in principle,” says Stepan. “Yes, we honor and preserve our ancient Cossack traditions, but now there are orders, subordination, and commanders. We receive support from the state. And now we are reforming into a separate assault battalion.”
“You should have seen us when we got our first paycheck!”
“Now I'm already got corrupt if you'll excuse my language. I'm fighting for money now, too,” the volunteer laughs, telling how his unit received its first official salary.
“The guys didn't know what to do at all out of confusion. And then they immediately bought uniforms, load-outs, helmets, and sights, threw out the old stocks from their assault rifles, and put on new telescopic ones. In just a month, the battalion was perfectly dressed, like a new penny! And just as well armed,” theman says enthusiastically.
“For you to understand, the volunteers (except for small amounts sent home) keep everything in the war. Everything is spent on vehicles, equipment, gear, and drones. The guys say: ‘What are we going to collect from other people when we have a salary? So we spent 20 thousand on drones.’ That's how it is. You have to see it to believe!”
Stepan considers brotherhood to be one of the sacred things in war. He says that for a long time, the battalion struggled to maintain the chain of command.
“We are used to the fact that the commander is called Oleksandr Hryshchuk is a commander of the Arei battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer ArmySania Makedonets by everyone, and you can turn to him for any question. When our guy in the hospital received a call from the commander and he asked: ‘How are you, brother, what's wrong with you?’, his ward neighbors went nuts: ‘Is this the battalion commander? You're talking nonsense, we have never seen the company commander, and it's the battalion commander calling you.’ They wondered how this could be. But it can't be otherwise with us. That's what volunteers are. This is, you know, the old rebellious Cossack character.”
“We are all volunteers”
According to Stepan Kovalchyk, the meaning of the word “volunteer” has not changed over the 10 years of war, but has become much broader. In the end, the number of people who are considered volunteers has grown incredibly.
But although he believes that going to war as a volunteer in 2014 and 2022 is a different kind of act, he says that he does not want to compare “who is a greater patriot and who is a lesser one”.
“All the years, from 2016 to 2022, I heard: ‘Oh, come on, it's not clear what it is. When they start launching the offense, we will leave.’ To be honest, I didn't believe it. I thought it was a good excuse for all those who did not participate in the war. But I was wrong. And I am very happy that I was wrong. Because in fact, many people who told me that have gone to the war. And I am proud of them,” says Stepan.
On the other hand, the man is sure that the meaning of this word is much broader.
“A volunteer is a person of goodwill. This does not mean that goodwill means only shooting from an assault rifle.
Not all of them are soldiers. Volunteers, who are now very numerous in Ukraine, cannot sit still and voluntarily start helping certain units of the Armed Forces. They are also volunteers.
Some people volunteer to repair cars — they are volunteers.
Someone of their own free will just got together, baked pies, slaughtered a pig, loaded salo, got off their ass, and came, for example, from Vinnytsia region to Donetsk region and brought us some (there were such cases). This is already a volunteer. Because there is something in a person that drives them and makes them do this. In the middle of winter. At their own expense.
An elderly woman who gives 200 hryvnias out of her pension of two thousand hryvnias to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is also a volunteer. And she is more of a volunteer than someone who gives a thousand out of a million. Because for her, those 200 hryvnias are important money. She may not be able to buy her own medicine.
A woman who has been hiding her child from those f*cking bombs for two years is also doing it voluntarily. She is in Ukraine, she is not leaving, she is voluntarily protecting her child. She is also a volunteer.”
We are all volunteers. Because we all voluntarily stayed on our God-given land, and we are at the throat of someone much stronger than us. And believe me, we will bite down and defend our land. We are all doing this voluntarily, without coercion.Stepan Kovalchyk, a fighter of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army
“We are all volunteers. And thanks to this, we will win,” thesoldier is convinced.