Most people would not be eager to go to war. Such a desire is often related to some youthful romanticism or, in some cases, a kind of mental disorder.
In Ukraine the defense of our country was the fatal necessity that prompted most of us to take up arms. And we’ve held the line for three years (or, to be more precise, almost 11 years).
We have held the line, despite what it has done to our bodies and our lives. Tens of thousands have been killed, and many more have been injured — like the soldiers in these images. Why do we fight? Because this is our country, and we have no other.
I do not speak the language of diplomacy well, but it seems that almost everything the new American president says about Ukraine — for example, that Ukraine started the war — can be attributed either to his incompetence or to a deliberate distortion of facts.
But it is funny at the same time. With all due respect to President Trump, the information world is too open, and the truth is too obvious. The whole world knows who started this war. I’m not entirely clear whom Mr. Trump is speaking to, but he’s not speaking to Ukrainians. All we can do is fight on and defend our right to exist.
I am often asked how long Ukraine will stand, since it is obvious that it cannot stand endlessly. And Russia seems ready to fight forever — to the last Russian soldier and the last Ukrainian city. Are Ukrainians ready to sit down at the negotiating table? Yes. But as an equal member of the negotiations. Otherwise, it’s like a trial in which the judge and the accused decide the fate of the injured party.
This is, after all, a war about Ukraine’s right to choose its future. Power and money decide many things, but I hope the world is not ready to give up on concepts like honor and justice.
Everyone is so tired. I am tired of serving. I want to take off my army uniform forever and travel, write novels and not flinch at explosions outside my window. My Facebook friends list is becoming a necropolis.
But there are other feelings, too. There is pride. We have lasted longer than anyone thought we could. We are determined to exist. We are still here. We are still fighting.
We are not ready to end the war on Russia’s terms and let our society fall into collective depression in the constant expectation of a new attack from a rested, better-prepared Russia. And we don’t want to continue to be a buffer between totalitarian Russia and a well-fed, safe Europe, either. For Ukraine to be a bargaining chip in a complex negotiation with a barbaric dictatorship that blackmails the rest of the civilized world with nuclear tantrums is unacceptable.
I said I was often asked how long Ukraine will stand. My answer: For as long as the Ukrainian soldiers bent over from the extreme pressure can hold on.
Artem Chekh is a novelist and a sergeant in the Ukrainian Army. Iva Sidash is an independent photographer and visual storyteller based in Ukraine.
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