Marion Gauthier, edited by Laura Laplaud
modified to
11:27 a.m., February 01, 2022
In Eastern Europe, the tension does not go down. More than 100,000 Russian soldiers are still massed on the border between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow remains inflexible in the face of the Western declarations which are linked together, thus leaving the doubt of an invasion. Ukrainian civilians prepare for war and join the ranks of the military. Marion Gauthier the special envoy of Europe 1 went there.
In Kharkiv, 40 kilometers from the border, a hundred men in fatigues, their hands on their hearts, their jaws clenched. To the sound of the Ukrainian anthem, 20-year-old Radionne saw her first day in the military ranks. The youthful air and the body too thin for his uniform, he knows how to mount and dismount a Kalashnikov. But the young man has never pulled the trigger yet. “There are two options in the event of an invasion: run or resist,” he slips.
Know how to mount your weapon in 25 seconds
“I decided that I was going to resist, I cannot leave my hometown and everything that is dear to me… Let the Russian tanks roll quietly in these streets”, he confides.
In Kharkiv, these men can also follow theoretical lessons on mines. A course startles the audience, but Vladimir, a single father with a graying beard, remains unmoved. On his back, the uniform of a friend injured in battle. “For 8 years, I have known that war can come to me. Today I am no longer afraid,” he exclaims.
“In 2014 and 2015, it was scary, very scary, but this fear turned into a firm will to defend myself,” certifies Vladimir. More and more of these men are enlisting in these ranks, under pressure from Russian troops on the border, as one captain notes. “A large percentage of the population is ready to actively defend themselves! People understand that there is a threat of invasion,” he proclaims.
Here, new fighters learn to mount a weapon in 25 seconds, dismount it in 17 seconds. In the event of an alert, the reservists have 48 hours to “perform their duty”, he explains.