The commander of the platoon of the Ukrainian National Guard, Vadim Kovalev, 33, call sign Kuba, in a conversation with the military correspondent of Latvijas Avīze, Atis Klimovichs, "acknowledged that the situation is becoming increasingly difficult."
"The enemy does not stop; we lose people every day. It only gets worse and harder. Perhaps when the Russians reach the Dnieper or Kharkiv, Europe will finally come to help, and together we will drive the Russians away." For now, Mr. Kovalev emphasized, "Europe is actually impotent. How can it be that fifteen drones fly in, and the Poles just stand and watch!"
The logistics chief of the battalion, Alexey Yakimenko, shared what he learned while visiting his wife and two children living in Poland: "We know which ten Poles are there, and none of them said they would defend Poland if the Russians attacked. They will leave, some to Germany, some to Spain. I find it hard to understand. When I was there last time, they asked what I would do. I replied that after my vacation, I would return to Ukraine to my unit. They looked at me skeptically, as if I were some kind of mentally ill person."
A. Klimovich notes the difference in the moods of soldiers and the population in the Kyiv-controlled region of Donetsk: "At the Kramatorsk market, I wanted to talk to the locals about what they think of a long war. Some of those surveyed looked as if they were completely indifferent little people. One of the traders said — we are just little people; nothing depends on us. I realized it was pointless to ask a simple question — who is to blame for unleashing this war and all the immense destruction. When I later told Kuba about this, he replied — these are 'waiters' - people who are actually waiting for the Russians to come.
Completely different is 84-year-old Lida, who sells very few homegrown spices, eggs, and a few other things. She is convinced that Russia will continue to do what it failed to achieve during the Holodomor or the Great Famine of the 1930s. Back then, Russia wanted to destroy the Ukrainians. The war, Lida said, is not destined to end anytime soon.
