KYIV (Dagbladet): Taras Chmut is sitting in a small office in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. A small and handsome man, who looks far younger than his 30 years. But Chmut is a war veteran and former military battalion leader in the Ukrainian defense.
He now heads the organization Come Back Alive, which helps Ukrainian troops stationed in the east of the country to fight Russian troops in the annexed counties of Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine.
– You’re wondering if we’re afraid of war? It’s too late to be there now, says Chmut.
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– Can not stop them
He is in constant contact with the soldiers who are ready in the Ukrainian border areas. They report a lot of activity and construction on the Russian side of the border.
– More and more Russian soldiers are in place. In addition, they transport petrol and much more to the border areas, in Belarus. Ships are also on the way. Russia has the world’s second largest army, while we have old equipment from the Soviet era, he says and continues:
Here are the Russian forces
– If there is a war, it will happen from now and a maximum of three weeks in the future. Only Putin knows if there will be a war, while what we do know is that we are not ready. We can not stop them, says Chmut.
Come Back Alive was started during the war against Russia in 2014. Just like today, the Ukrainian army was poorly equipped with military equipment, and Ukrainian volunteers collected money and bought bulletproof vests.
They embroidered “Come Back Alive” and a heart on the vests. It is now the organization’s logo.
COMMITTED: Taras Chmut (30) leads the veteran organization Come Back Alive, which is, among other things, the largest group on Facebook in the country. – Russia is sending more and more soldiers and materiel against us. Russia only understands raw power, so the United States, Norway, NATO and the EU must show muscle now, if we are to avoid war, says Chmut. Photo: Henning Lillegård / Dagbladet
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– Is at war
Since 2014, the organization has grown. They continue to send equipment to the front, in addition to training civilians to go to war, gather intelligence and help injured veterans.
Somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 are injured for life after fighting the Russians from 2014 until today, according to Chmut.
Norwegian soldiers may be involved: – Very uneasy
– In the West, you think that there may be war here, but we are already at war with Russia, which occupies the Crimean peninsula in the south and the Donbass region in the east. But now the war can become even more violent. Then it becomes violent. And long-lasting, says Chmut.
The Ukrainian military has 261,000 soldiers and 430,000 veterans.
– Our advantage is that most Ukrainians are ready for battle, and civilians are ready to receive military training. We will never find ourselves controlled by Russia. We are Ukrainians and will never give up our freedom and our democracy, he says.
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– Must avoid panic
Dagbladet has been in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for just over two days. Everywhere the message is the same: that Ukrainians are a separate people who will fight to the end, if they have to. But most of all, people hope that massive political pressure from the United States and the West will cause Putin and Russia to drop the escalation of the war against their neighbor to the west.
– The most important thing now is that all Ukrainians must stay calm and avoid panic. Russia expects and works for panic and fear. Here in Ukraine and in the West, says Andrew Zagorodnyouk, former Ukrainian Minister of Defense who currently works for the Ukrainian think tank Center for Defense Strategies.
– Slow bleeding over time
On all radio and television broadcasts in Ukraine, this is exactly what tops the news picture: “Stay calm, no need to panic”, is the main message.
And in the capital, there is no indication of a possible major war. People go to school and work. Kindergarten groups go for walks in the city parks and in the afternoon and evening there are many people out, both in restaurants and bars.
– There is no point in walking around and being scared. We just have to live and hope that Putin comes to his senses, says a female bartender in Kyiv.
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Closes schools
Next week, several schools are closing down and are now planning for digital teaching. But it is not a possible war, but ever-increasing covid-infected that is the cause, according to school principal Tetyana Pushkarova.
In Ukraine, there is great vaccine skepticism, and only about 40 percent of the country’s inhabitants are vaccinated.
– May appear in several places
– We have more than enough to get through this pandemic, so a major war is the last thing we need right now, says the principal.
Back in the small office of Come Back Alive, Chmut is planning military training for civilians.
– It is clear that people are afraid. Everything would have been so much easier if we knew what Putin was thinking, but no one knows. Not even him, I fear, says Chmut.
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Raw power
He believes the most important thing to avoid war is that the United States, NATO, the EU and Western countries impose more sanctions on Russia, in addition to sending military equipment.
– Ukraine needs help. And then I’m not talking about food or statements of support, he says briefly and firmly, before listing:
– Putin has shot himself in the foot
– Ships, aircraft, air defense equipment, modern weapons, rockets, optical equipment that can be used at night, cars that can do in the terrain, radios and communication equipment…
– The only thing Russia and Putin understand is raw power. If the West and the United States prove weak… That is when there can be war, he says.
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