In the quarry in Donetsk, 2 soldiers practice the alleged Somali tactics. They crouch behind a pile of rubble, lift the Kalashnikov over their head all 2 seconds, and give a fewer shots. It is mid March 2025 while Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin talk on the telephone about the ceasefireUkrainian recruits practice before their first mission on the front.
One of them has a nickname R2-D2 – like a droid from Star Wars. “I hope I don’t gotta fight,” he says. A fewer months ago, a 28-year-old boy was ordered to leave. He received basic training at the Desna recruitment center in the north of Ukraine, halfway between Kiev and Chernihow.
— Many of my colleagues are already dead. — notes R2-D2. After basic training, recruits are assigned to various battalions. any people gotta go straight to the front. R2-D2 is sent to Donetsk, to the Aidar Assault Battalion.
“Now they send us all”
The bald is simply a sleazy commander with blue eyes and grey beard. Aidar sends his recruits to him for extra training. — The army is my life “ Says the bald and pulls out his military book. In the photo, a 20-year-old boy with blond hair looks seriously at the camera. “ I wanted to be a soldier from childhood, ” she admits.
Aidar was founded in 2014 as a volunteer battalion to carry out attacks. His soldiers attack Russian trenches with tiny groups and take control of them. The hazard of their deaths is higher than for defenders. “Only your companion can defend you during the attack,” explains the bald. If the militant has no motivation or is paralyzed by fear, it could mean death for the full group.
Piotr Sobik / ANADOLU / Anadol via AFP / AFPSoldiers of the 68th brigade of the Ukrainian army participate in military training in the Donbas region of Ukraine, on 29 January 2025.
When only volunteers fought in Aidar, motivation was never a problem. “But now they send us all,” says the bald. After 3 years of war to destruct Ukrainian forces are exhausted. Experienced soldiers were injured or killed. It's practically impossible to replace them.
“No more heroic stories”
Military officers gather Ukrainian men and send them to Verbunkov centres. This concerns the commander, but remains pragmatic: “Our occupation is to motivate fresh recruits. We take care of them and integrate them with the Aidar family. And most importantly, we train them properly, he says.
Weapons systems and war technology have continuously changed since the invasion in 2022. Ukrainian and Russian soldiers seldom face each another and shoot each other. Two years ago, artillery dominated. Now they're long-range missiles and armed drones.
55-year-old Yuri Berez until late was the commander of the Dniepr-1 Battalion, where he and his soldiers experimented with drones in the first months of the war that could drop grenades. Bereza believes that going to war with drones weakens morale. “You have almost no direct contact with the enemy. You control the drone and you kill. You launch missiles and possibly hit. Many commanders care for prestige, but modern war technology does not compose heroic stories, he notes.
Wolfgang Schwan / ANADOLU / Anadol via AFP / AFPUkrainian soldiers from the Chartya Brigade undergo training from shooting down drones in the Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine, 18 February 2025.
Bereza has over 9 years of war against Russia. He was injured many times and saw the death of countless comrades. He always reminded his soldiers that their endurance was the most crucial thing. “Only a surviving soldier can kill” — that is his motto.
“The laying down of weapons is now out of the question”
R2-D2 inactive remembers the minute he realized he had to go to war. “ I was so scared, ” she admits. During training, he learned how to behave in combat. “ Now I feel more assured and ready to usage my fresh skills,” he adds.
Next Monday Ukraine and the US will meet in Saudi Arabiato negociate a ceasefire with Russia. The Ukrainian president will gotta surrender any of the territories if he does not want to be seen as a inciter of war. R2-D2 says he can live with that. “Suspending our weapons will give us all time to regenerate. And reasoning about what we truly want, he says.
Commander Aidar, the bald, releases recruits for lunch break. There are cold canned and energy bars. Baldy devoted practically everything to the liberation of occupied territories in east Ukraine. All his possessions are in a tiny car. He barely sees his family. It's not an option for him to lay down a weapon now. — Leaving our brothers and sisters, our children to be occupied? Never. As long as my heart beats, I will fight for them, he assures.
