The two men did not hesitate for a second. “We formed this checkpoint in order to protect our city as soon as the war started,” assures Andriy (who did not wish to give his name, like all the people he met), a man in his sixties wearing a leather holster on his belt from which the butt of a revolver protrudes. At his side, on the side of a road, Pavlo adds that “All citizens who are aware of what is happening in the country should come here. I think they have this obligation to come and protect their children, their loved ones and their homes… We don’t really have a choice”.
It is an inevitable point of passage for those who take the roads of Ukraine at war. In the west, south, east and north of the country, in the areas that have not been taken by the Russian armed forces since the start of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, the checkpoints dominate the highways. Planted at regular intervals, these checkpoints of all sizes check motorists in search of groups of Russian infiltrators who would try to attack the cities.
This stretch of road on which Andriy, Pavlo and their new ” Brothers in arms “ spend part of their days is located at the entrance to Vynnyky, a small town on the eastern outskirts of Lviv, on the road leading to the center of the country. Concrete blocks and walls of green and white sandbags delimit the area. Some cars go by in slow motion, without stopping, others are asked to park. In this case, the fashionable form of politeness is to launch a “Glory to Ukraine!” », followed by “Glory to the heroes! “.
Escape of prisoners
The majority of the men are volunteers, but police and military are also present. A member of the security services warns that it is forbidden to speak to officials, as well as to photograph the installations. According to him, the Russian armed forces could recognize the areas of the checkpoints and decide to bombard them.
Since the beginning of the war, according to Pavlo, 500 inhabitants of Vynnyky have joined the territorial defense groups, a branch of the Ukrainian army made up of volunteers in charge of defending the cities. Ultimately, the goal would be to have “100 checkpoints” to control the entrances and exits of the big city of Lviv. The organization is run-in. groups of “20 to 30 people” take turns every four hours to man the checkpoint, when other “patrol the city with their cars or on foot” in order to stop the “saboteurs”.
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