"AT THE MILITARY COMMISSARIAT, THERE WAS A LINE,

AND THE INTOXICATED WERE TURNED AWAY"

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Valerii OSTAPCHUK, 57 years old, graduated from a railway technical school. He previously worked as a warehouse manager for construction materials at Agrobudservice and was a taxi driver before the full-scale war.
Serhii ARTEMENKO, 34 years old, worked in freight transportation and recently as a tattoo artist. Both are now soldiers. This interview was recorded during their rehabilitation period.

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VALERII: The war didn’t start two years ago; it began in 2014. And I think it even traces back to the Maidan protests. We have a mutual friend, Liuba Shcherbytska, and we participated together in the Maidan movement, in all the revolutionary activities. I believe this war is because we want to be independent and refuse to be subdued. We believed in that during the revolution, and we still believe in it now. At the start of the war, no one had to force us because we wanted to defend our country. Now, young men are being rounded up... I don’t know how it came to this, that people need to be compelled to protect their land, their families. We all vividly remember what happened in Bucha and Irpin. How can you forgive that? You can’t. Of course, I’m tired, and my age is catching up to me... But someone has to step up.

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SERHII: I have three brothers, and they are all in the military as well—some in active service, others have risen to officer ranks. We’re all united by the same purpose.
I have a family and children. Being the eldest brother in my family, I simply couldn’t sit back. I’ve been in the army since the start of the full-scale invasion. During this time, I’ve fought on all the fronts where our unit was deployed. What other choice was there? On the morning of February 24th, I was woken by a phone call—an elderly neighbor, crying, shouted, "Serhii, it’s war!" I packed up and went straight to the military commissariat, never returning home, and immediately started my service.

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VALERII: My shift that night ended late. I had just laid down to rest when I heard a strange noise followed by an explosion. It was near the "Minska" metro station in Obolon. I looked out the window: everything seemed normal, people were heading to work for the first metro train. I lay down again, and then another explosion... That’s when I realized it was serious.

I didn’t believe a full-scale war would happen. In 2018 and 2022, I spent 45 days in military training. So when it started, the military commissar called me: "You’re aware of what’s happening, right?"
"Of course," I replied. "I’ll be there tomorrow." By February 25th, I was already at the commissariat. There was a line, and they wouldn’t let anyone in who was intoxicated, saying, "Go sober up and then come back." When you got in, the first question they asked was, "Are you ready to sacrifice your health and life for Ukraine’s independence?" If you said "yes," they immediately stamped your documents, and you moved forward.

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SERHII: ...and if you said "no," they sent you home to think about it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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VALERII: But I wanted to defend... I live in Kyiv, and the enemy was already in Irpin and Bucha, killing people—not in the movies, but for real. Hostomel... Our eldest son, Mark, my wife’s son from her first marriage, is an artilleryman. He signed a contract before the war and was already involved in those battles. So how could I not join? I have a young daughter, only 11 years old. How could I explain it to her if I hid? I used to speak only Russian, but now I’ve switched to Ukrainian.

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SERHII: Half of the people speak Russian, the other half Ukrainian... We even met Belarusians. They were real brothers. I believe that if someone is pro-Russian and wants to live in Russia, they shouldn't wait to be "liberated." Just leave with God's blessings! There are still many like that in Kherson and Donbas.

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VALERII: Near Kherson, we were stationed in Novotiahynka, in an empty house whose owners had left for Crimea. We didn’t touch anything, slept on the floor, but after a few days, the lady of the house returned and told us to leave. Her car was full of kids, and she said, “We have nowhere else to go, so please vacate quickly.” No problem! We moved our things to the house across the street. Those people even fed us.

Our journey started in Zviahel, formerly Novohrad-Volynskyi…

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SERHII: Yes, in Zviahel, at the 30th Mechanized Brigade base, they formed our separate infantry battalion. They sent us to the Belarusian border. In Kyiv region, in Ivankiv district, we were attached to the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, and by the time we reached Kherson, we were part of the 61st Infantry Jaeger Brigade. From Mykolaiv, we moved to Arbuzynka, and from there, it began... Bashtanka, Bereznehuvate, Davydiv Brid—we participated in assault actions and crossed the Inhul River.

 

VALERII: We reached the Dnipro River. I mentioned Novotiahynka—it's right on the bank of the Dnipro. To the right is Tokarivka, where our brigade was also stationed. Kherson is not far from there. They told us we did well and could rest here for the winter. Rotation...

It was around November 2022. Suddenly, we were given 24 hours to prepare, and at 5 a.m., we were headed to Donbas, to Soledar. So much for rest...

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​SERHII: It was hell... This scar on me is from Soledar.

 

VALERII: There, we faced Wagner mercenaries in battle. They seemed drugged. You’d shoot, hit one, he’d fall, groan, then stand up and keep coming. Maybe they were hypnotized—I still don’t understand it. So many of them died there. And many of ours too... Dmytro, call sign "Pokemon," a great guy... Many ended up as amputees, without arms or legs... Soledar—it’s not just terrifying, it’s beyond words. Mud, blood, and cold.

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SERHII: The winter was harsh, with temperatures dropping to -16°C. You couldn’t sleep…

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VALERII: Thankfully, they pulled us out to Cherkasy. After Soledar, I developed bilateral pneumonia and ended up in the hospital. The unit moved to Sumy region without me.

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SERHII: In Sumy region, we were recuperating and recruiting, but we still carried out combat missions with the border guards.

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VALERII: It’s near the border, so we set up ambushes and built fortifications.

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SERHII: We formed mobile anti-tank and counter-sabotage units. Whenever there was an incident or we spotted a sabotage and reconnaissance group (SRG), we were the first to respond.

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VALERII: Everyone knew their job. For example, as a driver, I’d jump behind the wheel, another guy would grab the NLAW (a Swedish-British short-range anti-tank system), and the third, the machine gunner, would hop into the pickup, and off we’d go. Saboteurs would brazenly cross the border and shoot at everyone indiscriminately. For example, they’d shoot at a milk truck collecting milk or at a car heading to the market in the morning. Then they’d disappear, considering their mission accomplished. These so-called "liberators"…