Ukraine’s fierce resistance to the Russian invasion reverberated around the world.
At the heart of this battle are ordinary citizens who have left behind a comfortable life to meet the call – people as a software engineer, logistics manager and even a poet.
The region south of Izyum is a key point of resistance against Russian attempts to completely encircle Donbass.
Most civilians have left and artillery battles are almost constant. These are some of the people who are trying to ensure that it does not fall into the hands of Russia.
Anna Arkhipova, 22
(Mick Crever / CNN)
Anna Arkhipova was a logistics manager in her hometown of Poltava, northeastern Ukraine, before the war.
At the time, her predominant fear was not of violence, but of “not being useful,” she said. So she registered and now drives a pickup truck to some of the most dangerous areas of the conflict.
In a world of bearded, stocky young men, her light figure carves an unusual figure. But she says men, not her, are the ones worried about her presence.
“Everyone tells me that I have to give birth, cook, clean and maintain the household, not be here,” she said. “It irritates me very, very much. I answer that if I want to give birth, I will not be here.”
Alex, 34
(Mick Crever / CNN)
Alex, who wanted to use only his first name for privacy reasons, is a software engineer from Kharkov. Last year he built his own wooden hut in the countryside.
Now his house, which was located on a strategically located hill, has been reduced to a hole five meters deep, and he spends many of his nights sleeping in a tank called the Bunny, which was stolen by the Russian military in the first weeks of the war.
“It’s like my personal tank,” he explains. “I’m like a tank commander and a tank owner,” he says with a laugh.
Vlad Sord, 27
(Mick Crever / CNN)
Vlad Sord was still a teenager when he signed up to fight for Ukraine in 2014.
“A lot of weird things happen there,” Sord explains as he smokes his cigars. “Things I couldn’t explain, I collected, compiled, recorded.”
He is now a published author and poet. He is fighting for his country and collecting materials to document what is happening.
“I have a very good memory of the dialogues themselves and I use that. I write everything down.”
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