ON THE GROUND
Grief, anger and pride: how war upended the lives of Ukraine’s citizen soldiers
Issued on: 17/02/2023 – 13:58
Sergeant Master Mikhail Sokolov revisits a training centre where he used to supervise Territorial Defence Forces recruits in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on February 4, 2023.
Sergeant Master Mikhail Sokolov revisits a training centre where he used to supervise Territorial Defence Forces recruits in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on February 4, 2023. © Mehdi Chebil, Studio Graphique France Médias Monde
Text by:
Mehdi CHEBIL
9 min
From our special correspondent in Kharkiv – Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has triggered seismic changes in the lives of most Ukrainians. Days before Moscow launched its attack, FRANCE 24’s Mehdi Chebil visited a training centre in Kharkiv where civilian reservists prepared for a war many still hoped to avoid. Twelve months later, he returned to the war-torn city to hear the stories of ordinary Ukrainians whose lives have been upended by Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II.
Pacing through the bombed-out ruins of his former training centre, Master Sergeant Mikhail Sokolov paused a moment to remember his fallen comrades.
“A lot of the people you met here last year, they’re no longer with us,” said the burly officer in camouflage gear, his M4 carbine rifle dangling from his shoulder.
“This place makes me feel sad and mournful,” he added, gesturing towards piles of rubble scattered across the floor. “All we have now is this emptiness, but we have to keep going.”
It was Sokolov who suggested going back to the training centre in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv where we first met last year for a report on Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Forces (TDF), a civilian reserve force designed to bolster the country’s defences.
Back then, the building, a former school, was bustling with officers and new recruits learning how to handle assault rifles and receiving basic training in explosives or first aid.
