"Everyone has to fight. It is only fair". Soldiers waiting for rotation

For almost a year now, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been at the front. People who were mostly civilians until February 24 have been living in dugouts and trenches for months, under fire. At the end of January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the formation of a reserve army to give the defenders a chance to rest. However, the mobilization outraged some of the society on the home front. What the military think about this and how the lack of systematic rotations has affected them — find out in the article by hromadske.

“Let the deputies and their sons go to serve”

Ukrainians record and publish videos on social media showing representatives of military registration and enlistment offices walking the streets and handing out draft notices. The comments on these videos vary: “No one is obliged to anyone”, “Let the MPs and their sons go to serve”, or “I don't pick up a guitar because I don't know how to play it. You have to have a skill for everything”.

This reaction surprises the soldiers on the front line.

“Maybe it's time to replace us, guys? To lend a shoulder? Why does someone think they can sit in the rear while we are fighting? Why does anyone hope that they will be spared? Everyone has to fight — it's only fair. I understand that not everyone wants to get into the trenches. However, there is no hiding from the war — this disaster will affect everyone. What if everyone just leaves? Will we wait for the Kadyrovites or the Russians to knock on the door?” says a soldier with the call sign “Major” who worked as an engineer before the full-scale invasion.

Two months ago, he suffered a bullet wound to his shoulder during a small arms battle with the Russians. Now he is undergoing rehabilitation and preparing to return to the front, where he has been for 8 months with little or no rest. He admits that this regimen has affected his relationship with his family.

“They gave me 5 days off, but it's nothing. To come home for 5 days and then see those tears when you have to leave — it's better not to come at all. My child is 5 years old. Now her personality is being formed. During the time I was at the front, she became completely different. And I miss this stage of her growing up,” says “Major”.

Heart attacks at the front

In addition, men over forty, who were civilians until February 24 and did not have proper physical training, are developing chronic diseases, says fighter Nazar (name changed — ed.). To protect his wife and children, he left his medical practice and joined the terrorist defense. He spent 5 months almost continuously at “zero”.

“The war has been going on for 11 months now, and we see no light at the end of the tunnel. There are many people like me who came on the first impulse, and now we see that there is no replacement for us. It's a bit depressing. Some of us can't stand physical exertion. One tore ligaments in his legs due to heavy loads — it's armor plus all the lining. We walk quite a bit. He had a complicated surgery,” says Nazar.

According to the fighter, there are frequent cases of heart attacks on the front line.

“Your heart starts hurting when you're on the line under fire for several days. It is a challenge for the heart and hormonal levels. Not everyone can withstand it. Then people are simply taken away from their positions in critical conditions. I am not even talking about the fact that there are dead and wounded as a result of active hostilities, many got concussions,” theman says.

“It doesn't matter where you go, as long as you are as far away from the war as possible”

If soldiers are constantly on the front line, under artillery fire, their psyche quickly becomes exhausted, says soldier Andrii (name changed — ed.). He once spent a whole week under enemy howitzers' fire.

“Sometimes my fellows lose their composure, fall into unconsciousness. They leave everything behind, run away under fire, crawl out of the trenches, and put themselves in danger. I had to drag them back in. A person in such a state does not think, he just wants to leave the battlefield. The body is so tired that it doesn't matter where you go, just as long as you are as far away from the war as possible.”

Andrii himself is a professional soldier who has been fighting since 2014, and during this time he has developed a kind of defense mechanism that saves him during shelling.

“You freeze, and you get lost in thought. You think it's just a few minutes, but your companions tell you later that you were there for two hours. This is my stress reaction,” says Andrii, adding that it is better to sit under fire for a while than to run away and get into the enemy's line of fire.

Endurance marathon

The armed forces need to introduce a mechanism for regular rotations, says Serhii Kostynskyi, a Territorial Defense fighter. He recalls that last year his unit spent 8 months in the field.

“An extreme state of moral exhaustion and physical fatigue. You are totally tired. You do not see your family, you do not get enough sleep, and you live in difficult combat conditions. All of this takes its toll. This should not happen. A person must be constantly in good shape — this is the only way to effectively perform combat missions. Each battalion has a different situation, but it should be unified, we should not imitate the Russians who despise their soldiers. We should not repeat this Soviet practice.”

According to Kostynskyi, the war is an endurance marathon, and therefore it is necessary to introduce a system whereby a unit will be given a month and a half to recover after three months of combat.

“Due to the lack of rest, we suffer many sanitary losses that could have been avoided. In addition, because of fatigue at the front, people start making mistakes that kill them,” the serviceman says.

The rotation is at the discretion of the high command. If we talk about the systematic replacement of military personnel, it is carried out only within some units, and not in a general format, says military expert Serhii Zgurets.

“This means that there are not enough units, units that can be provided with great efficiency. The withdrawal of a unit from the contact line creates military and logistical problems and weakens positions. This means additional risks, especially during intense hostilities,” the expert emphasizes.

We asked the General Staff what the rotation procedure is and whether all those who have been fighting for a long time will be replaced. We were told that they do not comment on these topics.

“Every day in the war reduces the chances of survival”

Pavlo Cheburei, a Territorial Defense fighter with the call sign “Chewbacca”, worked as a web manager for hromadske before the full-scale invasion. His unit, the 130th Battalion of the 241st Territorial Defense Brigade, had been in the war zone for 5 months. They were promised rotations several times. They were supposed to be at their positions for a month, but in the end they spent three. The rotation took place only after public scandals. “Chewbacca” believes that the government should not only take care of rotations, but also allow demobilization for all those who have fought for a year.

“We need to give people a choice: either they continue to fight professionally or they demobilize. Such a scheme is good given that the war may drag on for years to come. There is a very convenient position for the command and people who avoid service: those who are fighting now, with experience, can continue to fight. But war is a lottery. Every day in the war reduces the chances of survival. If we fight for another year, it will double our chances of dying. Someone else will simply not play this lottery,” says the soldier.

According to Cheburei, this will be fair, because according to the Constitution, all citizens have the same rights and responsibilities. And defending Ukraine is one of them. Therefore, he calls on non-mobilized citizens to prepare for service: improve their physical fitness, master weapons, and take tactical medicine courses.

“I want civilians to realize that we need to be replaced too. Today they are sitting in restaurants, resting, which is great. But I want them to realize that they can become military tomorrow and go to the front. And we will become civilians and go to restaurants to relax.”

Citizens have registered several electronic petitions on the president's website, asking for the same thing as “Chewbacca”: to allow the military, who have been at war for a year, to demobilize. However, a similar petition had already gained 25,000 votes, and both Defense Minister Reznikov and President Zelenskyy responded that in wartime, military personnel can be demobilized only in accordance with Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service” — upon reaching the age of 60, for health reasons, due to a court conviction, etc.

The only thing that military personnel can count on during the war is vacation. On December 1, the Parliament gave them this opportunity. A soldier can be released for a 10-day vacation, excluding travel.