When the war broke out, Konstantin Honcharov, a DW journalist at the time, returned from Germany to Ukraine to join the Ukrainian army. This is his story:
To be honest, I still don't understand why this war started, why it continues, and how it can end - when and at what cost. I neither wanted this war, nor did anyone send me to fight. For me, war is something archaic. This is a return to the logic of brute force - and in an era when humanity is already talking about colonizing Mars.
When war broke out in my homeland, Ukraine, I - as a man who had never held a gun in my hands - was faced with the choice of remaining a spectator or helping to defend my country. My decision to join the army was dictated not so much by a sense of duty as by the desire to be a subject, not an object, of history. In other words - not to be simply a victim of circumstances.
How war changed for soldiers
Over time, war lost its abstractness for me and became deeply personal. It became routine, part of my everyday life. I do not notice any profound psychological changes in me - perhaps because they had already happened and had simply become a habit. I can no longer imagine what it's like to live any other way.
I feel sorry for the friends who didn't return, for the destroyed places from my past. I see what's happening in the cities on the front. But I'm especially worried when Kiev is under fire. After every shelling I write to my loved ones: “How are you? Do you have electricity? Is it cold at home?“.
Why is there a shortage of soldiers in Ukraine
It's not just fighting that destroys people. Despite all the talk about the technologization of modern warfare, there are other problems in the army that have accumulated over the years. And today they are starting to destroy people. The mass desertions from the army are not due to the fact that soldiers have become cowards or have ceased to be patriots. The reason is that people at the front have simply reached the limit of their strength – both physically and mentally.
The scenario is always the same: the unit does not withdraw for rest, remains in position for a very long time, reinforcements either do not arrive or are not prepared for what awaits them. In the winter of 2023, I was wounded and evacuated, and from my platoon, which initially consisted of 30 people, only five remained in position. The rest were already wounded or killed.
Then decisions are made in the style of “we have to put out fires“: drivers, cooks, soldiers from mortar and anti-aircraft units or from supply are transferred to the infantry and are expected to hold the front lines, without having the necessary experience. Instead - they are wounded, killed or simply deserted. So, instead of compensating for the shortage of infantrymen, the problem is getting worse.
Why are so many soldiers overworked?
Human endurance has its limits. If troop rotations were regular, frontline personnel were rotated more frequently, and conditions of military service were at least a little more humane, we wouldn't be seeing the situation we're in now. We often demand that soldiers be heroes, but we forget to give them the opportunity to be just good soldiers - trained, equipped, and at least a little rested.
The widespread use of drones has made frontline rotations significantly more difficult. The advance to the most advanced positions and the retreat from them through the “deadly zone”, which today stretches for kilometers behind the front line, must be developed as a separate special operation: the route must be planned in detail, enemy drones must be tracked, and all this must be done in close coordination with electronic warfare units. However, in favorable weather conditions, rotations are possible – and vital.
When an infantryman spends an average of 60 days in a combat position (and according to media reports, the current record for staying on the front line is 472 days – i.e. more than a year and three months!), one can hardly expect effective performance of tasks. The combat stress that reigns there is so enormous that it eats away at the person from the inside.
Uneven distribution of the burden
Yes, war is different today – it is fought on a much wider perimeter. Drones now take on a large part of the combat tasks, as well as constant surveillance of the battlefield, and this is a major technological advance. However, in the end, it all comes down to the fact that the defensive line is not supported by technology, reports or statistics, but by specific people in the trenches. The future of the country directly depends on how long they can stay there and be combat-ready. And the lack of such people is catastrophic.
I am not an expert on critical infrastructure or on determining fitness for military service. But when the number of men released from military service has already exceeded one million, and in the rear you watch a group of men of military age paint a small bridge for days, you can't shake the feeling that something is wrong with the fair distribution of people.
The illusion called negotiations
That's why the information about peace talks sounds one way to soldiers, and another to civilians. Among the military people I talk to, few see them as a real prospect for Ukraine. News of a possible truce only creates an illusion that has little to do with what is happening on the battlefield.
For people far from the front, news of negotiators' meetings may give the impression that some kind of peace process and some kind of "turnaround" has already begun, but for those in the fighting zone, nothing has changed: the artillery continues to fire, the attacks continue, the drones fly, and people die.
I would very much like to be wrong about what I am saying. I want to return to my family as soon as possible. But reality suggests that this battle could go on for a long time.
Author: Konstantin Honcharov