Russia “very worried” about counterattacks near Kharkiv, Ukrainian official says

Ukraine’s fierce resistance to the Russian invasion has resonated world wide.

On the middle of that struggle are odd residents who left behind snug lives to reply a name of responsibility — folks corresponding to a software program engineer, a logistics supervisor and even a poet.

The world south of Izium is a key level of resistance towards Russian makes an attempt to fully encircle the Donbas area.

Most civilians have left, and the artillery battles are near-constant. These are a few of the folks attempting to make sure it doesn’t fall into Russian arms.

Anna Arhipova, 22

Anna Arhipova was a logistics supervisor in her hometown of Poltava, northeast Ukraine, earlier than the warfare started.

On the time, her overriding concern was not of the violence, however of “not being helpful,” she says. So she signed up, and now drives a pickup truck to a few of the most harmful areas of the battle.

In a world of bearded, stocky younger males, her slight body cuts an unusual determine. However she says it’s the boys, not her, who’re troubled by her presence.

“All people tells me that I’ve to provide start, cook dinner, clear, and do the housekeeping, not be right here,” she says. “It irritates me very, very a lot. I reply that if I wish to give start, I might not be right here.”

Alex, 34

Alex, who needed to make use of solely his first title out of privateness considerations, is a software program engineer from Kharkiv. Final yr, he constructed his personal countryside log cabin.

Now his home, which was on a strategically situated hill, has been decreased to a gap 5 meters deep, and he spends a lot of his nights sleeping in a tank named ‘Bunny,’ which was stolen from the Russian navy within the opening weeks of the warfare.

“That is like my private tank,” he explains. “I’m like tank commander and tank proprietor,” he says with amusing.

Vlad Sord, 27

Vlad Sord was nonetheless a teen when he signed as much as struggle for Ukraine in 2014.

“Plenty of unusual issues occur there,” explains Sord, as he chain smokes cigarillos. “Issues that I couldn’t clarify, I collected them, compiled them, wrote them down.”

He’s now a broadcast creator and poet. He fights for his nation, and gathers materials to doc what’s taking place.

“I’ve an excellent reminiscence for the dialogues themselves and I take advantage of that. I write every little thing down.”