Ukrainian Soldier Home On Leave Reflects On The Horrors Of War

He encountered the bodies in Irpin in early March as his unit fought to liberate the Kiev suburb from Russian forces. “The child was attached to the mother and then they both blew up,” he said in his small apartment in the western Polish city of Wroclaw, where the family moved in 2019. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register He also showed Reuters video from the phone of a hospital he said he visited in nearby Bukha, where the bodies of people of all ages had been placed as part of Ukraine’s clean-up operation. Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities while occupying the once leafy city outside the capital at the start of the nearly six-month war. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it targeted civilians in the war and called claims that its forces executed civilians in Bukha a “monstrous hoax”. The defense ministry in Moscow did not respond to a request for comment on Dovzhenko’s accounts of the war, which Reuters could not independently verify. One of thousands of soldiers believed to have come from abroad to fight in Ukraine, the 41-year-old – who has also seen action in the south near Kherson – can now enjoy the simple daily activities he has been missing since late February. He has spent some time back at home before returning to cooking, cuddling his two young children and going for long walks with his wife Alexandra. “I don’t really know, I may have very little chance of being able to return (again) to my wife and children. But this work has to be done,” said Dovzhenko, who heads an organization of Ukrainian veterans living abroad. Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Dovzhenko, 41, looks on during an interview with Reuters at his home in Wroclaw, Poland, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki read more

“WE NEED A LOT OF WEAPONS”

He fought against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region in 2014, the year Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, but this time the conflict is more brutal, he said. “There was a battle line – our country is here and there was a legal demarcation. Now there is no such line. And all the missiles, shots, everything that Russia is using now did not exist before,” said Dovzhenko. With no sign of letting up in the Russian advance and the Ukrainian military outmatched, Dovzhenko has little patience for Western voices expressing concern over the course of the war but offering no tangible help. “Someone is very worried when rockets fall on our heads. If you are so worried, we can change places. I invite them to Kharkiv or Mykolayiv. Their concern will be very necessary there,” Dovzhenko said. “We just don’t have enough weapons right now. We need a lot of weapons, artillery, we need missile systems, and we need new weapons for the infantry. We also need a lot of technical assistance.” Trying to reconcile the stark contrast between life in Ukraine and Poland, things he once found normal, like streets full of pedestrians, suddenly seemed strange. “I was driving and a helicopter was flying over the road. Maybe it was the police, maybe an ambulance, I don’t know,” he said. “I almost had an accident because I wanted to turn off all of a sudden, because in Ukraine if you see a helicopter it means you’re going to fight. So I said to myself, stop, stop, stop, stop.” But with the sun shining in Wroclaw, Dovzhenko and his wife remained focused on trying to enjoy their last few hours together before returning to Ukraine. “When he’s here, it’s always a holiday,” said a tearful Olesandra. “He is a wonderful husband and father … We do everything to be together.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Kuba Stezycki. edited by John Stonestreet Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Home On Leave Reflects On The Horrors Of War Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Dorothy Keel”

He encountered the bodies in Irpin in early March as his unit fought to liberate the Kiev suburb from Russian forces. “The child was attached to the mother and then they both blew up,” he said in his small apartment in the western Polish city of Wroclaw, where the family moved in 2019. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register He also showed Reuters video from the phone of a hospital he said he visited in nearby Bukha, where the bodies of people of all ages had been placed as part of Ukraine’s clean-up operation. Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities while occupying the once leafy city outside the capital at the start of the nearly six-month war. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it targeted civilians in the war and called claims that its forces executed civilians in Bukha a “monstrous hoax”. The defense ministry in Moscow did not respond to a request for comment on Dovzhenko’s accounts of the war, which Reuters could not independently verify. One of thousands of soldiers believed to have come from abroad to fight in Ukraine, the 41-year-old – who has also seen action in the south near Kherson – can now enjoy the simple daily activities he has been missing since late February. He has spent some time back at home before returning to cooking, cuddling his two young children and going for long walks with his wife Alexandra. “I don’t really know, I may have very little chance of being able to return (again) to my wife and children. But this work has to be done,” said Dovzhenko, who heads an organization of Ukrainian veterans living abroad. Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Dovzhenko, 41, looks on during an interview with Reuters at his home in Wroclaw, Poland, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki read more

“WE NEED A LOT OF WEAPONS”

He fought against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region in 2014, the year Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, but this time the conflict is more brutal, he said. “There was a battle line – our country is here and there was a legal demarcation. Now there is no such line. And all the missiles, shots, everything that Russia is using now did not exist before,” said Dovzhenko. With no sign of letting up in the Russian advance and the Ukrainian military outmatched, Dovzhenko has little patience for Western voices expressing concern over the course of the war but offering no tangible help. “Someone is very worried when rockets fall on our heads. If you are so worried, we can change places. I invite them to Kharkiv or Mykolayiv. Their concern will be very necessary there,” Dovzhenko said. “We just don’t have enough weapons right now. We need a lot of weapons, artillery, we need missile systems, and we need new weapons for the infantry. We also need a lot of technical assistance.” Trying to reconcile the stark contrast between life in Ukraine and Poland, things he once found normal, like streets full of pedestrians, suddenly seemed strange. “I was driving and a helicopter was flying over the road. Maybe it was the police, maybe an ambulance, I don’t know,” he said. “I almost had an accident because I wanted to turn off all of a sudden, because in Ukraine if you see a helicopter it means you’re going to fight. So I said to myself, stop, stop, stop, stop.” But with the sun shining in Wroclaw, Dovzhenko and his wife remained focused on trying to enjoy their last few hours together before returning to Ukraine. “When he’s here, it’s always a holiday,” said a tearful Olesandra. “He is a wonderful husband and father … We do everything to be together.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Kuba Stezycki. edited by John Stonestreet Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Home On Leave Reflects On The Horrors Of War Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Michele Hall”

He encountered the bodies in Irpin in early March as his unit fought to liberate the Kiev suburb from Russian forces. “The child was attached to the mother and then they both blew up,” he said in his small apartment in the western Polish city of Wroclaw, where the family moved in 2019. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register He also showed Reuters video from the phone of a hospital he said he visited in nearby Bukha, where the bodies of people of all ages had been placed as part of Ukraine’s clean-up operation. Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities while occupying the once leafy city outside the capital at the start of the nearly six-month war. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it targeted civilians in the war and called claims that its forces executed civilians in Bukha a “monstrous hoax”. The defense ministry in Moscow did not respond to a request for comment on Dovzhenko’s accounts of the war, which Reuters could not independently verify. One of thousands of soldiers believed to have come from abroad to fight in Ukraine, the 41-year-old – who has also seen action in the south near Kherson – can now enjoy the simple daily activities he has been missing since late February. He has spent some time back at home before returning to cooking, cuddling his two young children and going for long walks with his wife Alexandra. “I don’t really know, I may have very little chance of being able to return (again) to my wife and children. But this work has to be done,” said Dovzhenko, who heads an organization of Ukrainian veterans living abroad. Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Dovzhenko, 41, looks on during an interview with Reuters at his home in Wroclaw, Poland, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki read more

“WE NEED A LOT OF WEAPONS”

He fought against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region in 2014, the year Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, but this time the conflict is more brutal, he said. “There was a battle line – our country is here and there was a legal demarcation. Now there is no such line. And all the missiles, shots, everything that Russia is using now did not exist before,” said Dovzhenko. With no sign of letting up in the Russian advance and the Ukrainian military outmatched, Dovzhenko has little patience for Western voices expressing concern over the course of the war but offering no tangible help. “Someone is very worried when rockets fall on our heads. If you are so worried, we can change places. I invite them to Kharkiv or Mykolayiv. Their concern will be very necessary there,” Dovzhenko said. “We just don’t have enough weapons right now. We need a lot of weapons, artillery, we need missile systems, and we need new weapons for the infantry. We also need a lot of technical assistance.” Trying to reconcile the stark contrast between life in Ukraine and Poland, things he once found normal, like streets full of pedestrians, suddenly seemed strange. “I was driving and a helicopter was flying over the road. Maybe it was the police, maybe an ambulance, I don’t know,” he said. “I almost had an accident because I wanted to turn off all of a sudden, because in Ukraine if you see a helicopter it means you’re going to fight. So I said to myself, stop, stop, stop, stop.” But with the sun shining in Wroclaw, Dovzhenko and his wife remained focused on trying to enjoy their last few hours together before returning to Ukraine. “When he’s here, it’s always a holiday,” said a tearful Olesandra. “He is a wonderful husband and father … We do everything to be together.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Kuba Stezycki. edited by John Stonestreet Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Home On Leave Reflects On The Horrors Of War Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-22” author: “Stella Pinner”

He encountered the bodies in Irpin in early March as his unit fought to liberate the Kiev suburb from Russian forces. “The child was attached to the mother and then they both blew up,” he said in his small apartment in the western Polish city of Wroclaw, where the family moved in 2019. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register He also showed Reuters video from the phone of a hospital he said he visited in nearby Bukha, where the bodies of people of all ages had been placed as part of Ukraine’s clean-up operation. Russian forces are accused of committing atrocities while occupying the once leafy city outside the capital at the start of the nearly six-month war. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it targeted civilians in the war and called claims that its forces executed civilians in Bukha a “monstrous hoax”. The defense ministry in Moscow did not respond to a request for comment on Dovzhenko’s accounts of the war, which Reuters could not independently verify. One of thousands of soldiers believed to have come from abroad to fight in Ukraine, the 41-year-old – who has also seen action in the south near Kherson – can now enjoy the simple daily activities he has been missing since late February. He has spent some time back at home before returning to cooking, cuddling his two young children and going for long walks with his wife Alexandra. “I don’t really know, I may have very little chance of being able to return (again) to my wife and children. But this work has to be done,” said Dovzhenko, who heads an organization of Ukrainian veterans living abroad. Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Dovzhenko, 41, looks on during an interview with Reuters at his home in Wroclaw, Poland, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki read more

“WE NEED A LOT OF WEAPONS”

He fought against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region in 2014, the year Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, but this time the conflict is more brutal, he said. “There was a battle line – our country is here and there was a legal demarcation. Now there is no such line. And all the missiles, shots, everything that Russia is using now did not exist before,” said Dovzhenko. With no sign of letting up in the Russian advance and the Ukrainian military outmatched, Dovzhenko has little patience for Western voices expressing concern over the course of the war but offering no tangible help. “Someone is very worried when rockets fall on our heads. If you are so worried, we can change places. I invite them to Kharkiv or Mykolayiv. Their concern will be very necessary there,” Dovzhenko said. “We just don’t have enough weapons right now. We need a lot of weapons, artillery, we need missile systems, and we need new weapons for the infantry. We also need a lot of technical assistance.” Trying to reconcile the stark contrast between life in Ukraine and Poland, things he once found normal, like streets full of pedestrians, suddenly seemed strange. “I was driving and a helicopter was flying over the road. Maybe it was the police, maybe an ambulance, I don’t know,” he said. “I almost had an accident because I wanted to turn off all of a sudden, because in Ukraine if you see a helicopter it means you’re going to fight. So I said to myself, stop, stop, stop, stop.” But with the sun shining in Wroclaw, Dovzhenko and his wife remained focused on trying to enjoy their last few hours together before returning to Ukraine. “When he’s here, it’s always a holiday,” said a tearful Olesandra. “He is a wonderful husband and father … We do everything to be together.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Kuba Stezycki. edited by John Stonestreet Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.