Now, he is fighting on the front lines in the eastern province of Donetsk, which is bombarded daily by Russian attacks. He and his fellow volunteer fighters and soldiers sleep in tents and damaged houses as explosions ring out nearby. Despite the living conditions, “morale and physical condition (among Ukrainian troops) are high,” he told Global News in audio messages recorded from his position near the city of Bakhmut – a key Russian target where damaged infrastructure has made it difficult The communication.
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With no end in sight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the war will determine “the future of the world” and whether Russia will deter its campaign of “insane aggression”. In conversations with Global News, fighters and paramedics who have spent the past six months seeing the horrors of war firsthand expressed the same urgency, along with a determination not to give up. “We will fight, we will end this war and drive out the invaders,” Chenakal said.
“He died and I couldn’t say goodbye”
Chenakal knew right away that the war would last a long time, but says he never thought about joining the fight or staying there until the end. “There was no choice,” he said. “We couldn’t go back to our normal lives (after a few months).” In the early weeks of the invasion, Chenakal served as a grenade launcher and was among the Ukrainian forces that held the Russians back from the capital, eventually forcing them to retreat. Artur Chenakal on the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Instagram/Arthur Chenakal As Moscow refocused its efforts on the separatist Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, he joined the defense forces there and trained as a combat medic. Chenakal first arrived in Luhansk province with a friend who had been fighting at his side since the start of the war, only to be split into different units. “We’ve always been next to each other, but in the last two months we’ve been about a kilometer apart,” he said. Last month, he says his friend’s unit came under mortar fire. “He died and I couldn’t say goodbye to him,” she said. General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the top commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on Monday that some 9,000 fighters have been killed on the front lines. He did not say whether that number, which has not been independently verified, included all branches of the military or whether the number included the entire six months of the war. He added in a speech to veterans that those on the front lines were living a “constant hell”. 2:30 Putin’s plans fail, resulting in growing support for Ukraine Putin’s plans fail, resulting in growing support for Ukraine Russia has not released an update on its military casualties since March, but Western intelligence agencies put the figure at around 20,000 troops. Ukraine’s military claimed on Thursday that nearly 46,000 Russian soldiers were killed. The United Nations, meanwhile, has confirmed that 5,587 civilians have been killed and another 7,890 injured since the start of the war, although the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights believes the numbers are much higher.
“Every time is a miracle”
Doctors like Yuliia Sidorova and Volodymyr Ventsel have cared for many of these citizens as they watched their city, Kharkiv, fall into ruins. Ukraine’s second-largest city was, along with Kyiv, an early target of Russian attacks and continues to suffer rocket attacks that have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including several universities and research facilities. “It’s very hard to explain the feeling of seeing the ruins of your city,” Wentzel said in a telephone interview. “There used to be children playing in the streets, students walking. This is not the case at the moment. There aren’t as many people as before.” Residents look over a damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during the Ukraine-Russia war. Submitted by Volodymyr Ventsel Russian troops also continued ground attacks on nearby villages in an attempt to seal off the town, forcing Ukrainian fighters to push them back. Amidst the ongoing storm, paramedics were forced to risk their lives removing victims from harm while tending to their injuries. “Every time there is a military operation or an attack, we thank God that we are able to return to base or return home alive this time,” Sidorova said via Zoom, with the help of an interpreter. “It’s a miracle every time.” The invasion marks the second time Sidorova has been involved in a conflict as a paramedic, having received her medical training when the Ukrainian revolution broke out in 2014. After leaving medicine in 2019 to pursue a career in fashion, she was called back into service when the first Russian missiles began hitting Ukraine on February 24. “It was not my decision, it was my duty,” he said. A damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during the Ukraine-Russia war. Submitted by Volodymyr Ventsel
“I still have work to do”
Missile attacks are less frequent than they were in the first weeks of the war, but first responders are still on edge. Ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday, Wentzel said he and his fellow doctors were working 24-hour shifts to prepare for the possibility of a major strike. “We’re all exhausted and tired, but I try not to think about it,” he said. “If I do, then I start to worry and it becomes much scarier, more tiring … and I still have a job to do.” Sidorova says she learned coping mechanisms during the revolution, but she also says she can’t afford to fall back into the depression she suffered then. “This is not a normal war, it is a war for good and evil,” he said. “We may be depressed or tired or whatever, but we have to keep fighting for the good.” What the fighters and first responders need, however, is equipment and training, which Western countries have continued to provide throughout the war. 2:11 Canada to help train Ukrainian citizens to fight Russian soldiers Canada to help train Ukrainian citizens to fight Russian soldiers – August 4, 2022 To date, Canada has delivered and committed $626 million in military aid to Ukraine, including armored vehicles, artillery, ammunition and other equipment. Canada has also deployed troops to Europe to train Ukrainian fighters. The United States has provided about $10.6 billion in military support since the start of the Biden administration and has also pledged to train troops. President Joe Biden announced a new aid package worth about $3 billion on Wednesday. Sidorova says her team needs tactical evacuation vehicles, oxygen masks and medical kits for the field. Chenakal, who now provides medical aid while fighting on the front lines in Donbass, says his battalion still suffers casualties “but thank God not so many”. Injuries were also relatively minor, he adds. He says the aid that does come from other countries is slow to arrive, which needs to be addressed. But he adds that Ukrainians have also stepped up to help each other, with volunteer organizations meeting many of the fighters’ daily needs. As the war enters its seventh month, many other challenges remain. Attacks on a nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia province have heightened fears of disaster. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to boost his beleaguered army. And some 13 million Ukrainians are estimated to be trapped in conflict-affected zones with no means of escape. First responders hope the rest of the world doesn’t forget the hardships they still face in their own country, nor the continued threat to their sovereignty as Russia continues its offensive. “We have to protect the world from this aggression,” Sidorova said. “And unfortunately, it’s not over yet.” © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
