Voice of Ukraine

From Snezhana Kadian in Odesa: We invited a mother with two sons, T and D, for dinner. I have known the boys since childhood. T was a part of the teenagers ministry in our church. Now T is 19, and D is 22 years old. Both are in the army, although they are too young to be there – men at such age are usually not drafted – they got there from the beginning of the full-scale war.

During our conversation, someone called them heroes. The older brother said with doubt: “What heroes are we?” Their mother answered: “Yes, you are! To carry your duty when it is cold, hot, or wet. When you are frightened, but you continue doing your job, it means to be a hero.”

Nowadays, many of us rethink the idea of heroism. Maybe there was the conception of a fearless warrior inspired by modern culture. Big, handsome, has superpowers, and never gives up. The reality turned out differently. For D, it meant staying in a basement for two months under constant shelling without a possibility of going outside for basic needs (using the bathroom). At some point, a spider bit him. D realized that only when he felt back pain. Later, he discovered a spider nest under his pillow. He stayed at his position without medical assistance until the end of his shift, when the poison spread, and he needed surgery. 

I can only imagine how much endurance and courage he had to have to keep doing his job under such circumstances: to keep the generator on and maintain communication between units. 

The last job of younger brother T is guarding the telecommunications tower and maintaining the operation of the generator that powers the tower. Seems simple… Until you realize that the enemy is one kilometer away from you, which is closer than Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Once he went to repair the phone in position. He was so amazed by nature that he decided to make a video of that beautiful view to send to his mom. Later when he got back to the unit he was told that the enemy was a kilometer away and they didn’t want him to panic.

Just think how much heroism these men have to have to protect our country and many others from evil: when it is terribly cold or hot, when they are scared or exhausted, uncomfortable or in pain when their friends die, and there are no weapons. They stand there for all of us. And they do not call themselves heroes.

P.S. These are the guys you help when you send Crates for Ukraine.