Viktor the retired soldier

V — Viktor | I — Interpreter

V: At that moment, there was nothing left of the city… if you take a five-story building, just a corner of the house — that’s all that remained. Nothing else was left.

I: That was in ’22, probably? Somewhere in the autumn.

V: Yes, it was November.

I: I feel like we might actually know each other, because we were here in Balakliia back then, volunteering, and we were handing over drones, maybe.

V: I wasn’t in Balakliia. I arrived in Balakliia only a month ago.

I: A month ago? Were you not here? It seems I remember this story…

V: I came here because they started bombing Balakliia heavily. And my unit is busy putting a stop to all that. I hadn’t worn a uniform for two years.

I: Really?

V: Because we are strictly forbidden from wearing uniforms.

I: You’re not allowed, right?

V: We arrived here, and there’s already a positive result: yesterday we sent two “Iskanders” flying past Balakliia.

I: Wow.

V: We can even do that now.

I: Wooow…. Is that some kind of special equipment?

V: It’s EW [Electronic Warfare].

I: Class, super. And what about when you were there near Bakhmut, what was happening there?

V: When we were near Bakhmut, it was a different kind of war. Until 2024, it was a war of artillery and infantry. But in 2024, a technological war began. Now it’s about who’s smarter, who can move faster and stay ahead — that’s where the fight is. The smarter side wins.

Look at this… what have our volunteers come up with? Evacuating the wounded using drones.

I: By drone?

V: Drones are carrying out the wounded.

I: How does that work?

V: A four-wheeled drone approaches the wounded soldier — essentially a simple cart, nothing sophisticated in appearance — yet it serves a critical purpose. It pulls up close enough for him to climb onto it, and once he does, it begins to carry him out of the danger zone. At the same time, he is being covered from above, ensuring that the evacuation can proceed with a reduced risk of being targeted, allowing them to get him to safety.

I: Also by a drone?

V: Also by a drone, yes.

I: Has it ever happened that people were taken captive using drones?

V: It has. I know two guys in the [Redacted] — they are partly stationed in Balakliia now — who captured an entire platoon using drones.

I: Seriously? And how many people are in a platoon?

V: Well, at least 25-30 people.

I: No way, how did they do that?

V: Well, when five drones fly onto a position, there is this constant sense of fear. A drone is a terrifying thing — primarily because of the sound. That sound works on you; it hits your brain very hard. Someone inexperienced, someone who has just arrived at the war, is especially terrified of it. It creates immense psychological pressure, and a person becomes ready to do almost anything. And then a voice over the speaker tells them: “If you don’t surrender, we will start bombing.”

I’ll tell you a story from my own experience. Pohonivka is a village in the Izium district. We were sent there to provide cover when an attack was launched on our positions. In response, we created fake information using Putin’s voice, addressing his troops: “As of today, the tasks of the SMO [“Special Military Operation” – russian term for war in Ukraine] are completed, we are stopping the operation.” The SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] guys arrived — and that was it, we stopped working on it. We played them the recordings; it was something we came up with ourselves. For 24 hours, there wasn’t a single attack.

I: Wow!

V: Then, for the second part, we made another recording and broadcast it to them through a loudspeaker: “Russian soldier, if you can get up from the trench, do it only with a white flag; otherwise, we will start bombing.” Meanwhile, in the [Redacted] Brigade, a planned artillery preparation was underway, and as those soldiers [Russians] began to move and prepare for an assault, our units opened fire in coordination with the planned strike. For two days, there was no further attack.

So the war of technology is ongoing. Whoever is smarter wins — there is simply no other way to win this war anymore. It is no longer just about firepower, but about information, coordination, and psychological pressure. Just look at this: it is not without reason that we were once jokingly asked to “save Saudi Arabia” — a reference to how unpredictable and unconventional this kind of warfare has become.

I: True.

V: I know the guys are already working there [in Saudi Arabia], because two people I know are already there. They were deployed on the first day; although they had been evacuated, they chose to return and continue working in the field. Because for us, this approach is highly effective in practical and operational terms.

You see, when Ukraine says something, nobody really listens. You know our good Ukrainian saying: “until the roasted rooster pecks you in the ass” — meaning that nothing is done until the situation becomes critical. That’s exactly how it turns out.

Since 2020, I’ve been talking about this, but nobody paid attention. However, in 2023 they started implementing it — and as a result, the efficiency of suppressing drones, especially the Orlan reconnaissance drones, dropped to about 20%.

I: Can you talk about it, or is it classified information?

V: I can’t. This information is so delicate that it’s better not to.

[Redacted]

I: I see… yeah, got it. Wow… that’s really incredible. God bless you. Thank you for everything you’re doing.

V: There is no health left; from Monday, that’s it — I’m a pensioner.

I: What do you mean from Monday?

V: Just like that, it’s over. My heart couldn’t take it. After 11 years of war, the heart gave out. Two heart attacks, and that’s it.

I: Seriously? How are you handling it? You’ll probably have a completely different life now.

V: One of my daughters is 15, the other is 11 — I have something to live for. And my wife is 39, while I’m 55.

I: Oh, so you’ve got it all figured out! [laughs]

V: Well, my grandfather was 70 and his wife was 25.

I: Seriously? Actually, my dad is 74 and my mom is 52. [laughs] Similar situation.

V: What difference does age really make? I don’t see any at all, as long as people are alive.

I: That’s for sure. God bless you — I hope you get to spend as much time as possible with your daughters and your wife.

V: Finally. I’m calling my wife and telling her that, at last, I’ll be with you. She says, “Thank God.”

I: She must have been very worried about you.

V: Of course she has. Two concussions, wounds — I’m still walking around with shrapnel in my body.

I: How do you do it? You get a concussion, you go back to the front, then another concussion, and you go back again…

V: It’s like an addiction — like drugs. It’s a disease. I tried going back to “civvie street” (civilian life), but it’s not for me.

I: So how are you going to live as a civilian now?

V: I’ll manage somehow — I’ll get used to it. The main thing is that I don’t have that kind of aggression anymore; I don’t snap at civilians. Back in 2016, I could still react like that, but that’s passed now, and I can return to civilian life normally.

Why did I stay? I initially joined the army for a year, then came back and saw these 18–20-year-old kids who had also enlisted. Some of them think they’re heroes, some think it’s about money — but I felt sorry for them because nobody was really training them properly. And they need to be taught. To produce a properly trained soldier, you need at least a year of training, no matter what people say. And an assault trooper needs a year and a half of preparation.

I: Wow. So at the moment, there’s essentially no traditional infantry anymore, right?

V: It’s useless.

I: It makes no sense, yeah.

V: It’ll just be a pile of corpses, that’s all.

I: That’s true, and the Ukrainian side understands this — but does the russian side?

V:  Well, there were joint training exercises with NATO. One of my friends was there, and he said: “Imagine the scene — we launch a drone, and they’re sitting there like on a picnic, smoking. What were we supposed to do? We just took them out and struck them.”

I: Wait, can you paint that picture for us?

V: Imagine this: here is our position, and the enemy, roughly speaking, is about 20 kilometers away. A drone flies in, and it spots infantry sitting there — basically not doing anything. The drone locks onto them, and then — bam… that’s it.

I: Were they ready for that?

V: No.

I: And what was their reaction?

V: They had only one reaction. Their commander, who was there, said they were in a very bad situation — “in the shit,” as he put it.

I: He actually said that?

V: He did. In English, he said exactly that: “We are in the shit.”

I: Crazy.

V: They don’t know how to fight. In Europe, maybe… if a war starts, Britain could fight, partly France, partly Germany — and that’s it. Nobody else in Europe really can fight.

I: What about Poland?

V: No. Poland was never really built for that kind of war. Historically, Poland has always fought wars en masse — they would charge forward, shouting “hurrah,” attacking head-on, all flash and no substance. Then the Cossacks would deal with them, and they would retreat. In our region, the Baltics can actually fight, but they are small. All three sides combined have around 150,000 people.

I: Seriously? The Baltics?

V: Well, what is there of the Baltics? They are tiny — like two Kharkiv regions. I’m not arguing, they are heroic people, very good people.

I: That’s true, yeah.

V: You can’t take words out of a song. I’ve been to the Baltics — they are very good people, I’m not arguing that at all. They are ready to give their last. But why are they like that? They understand that if we fall here, they will perish. The same applies to Finland — they would perish as well.

I: Finland, right? They won’t be able to defend themselves?

V: They are also small. Well, they have a slightly larger army, maybe 180,000–200,000.

I: If russia launches drones, yeah, there’s not much they can do. They can’t really do anything about it.

V: We are the only ones who can handle drones. Today, an Iranian drone made it as far as Istanbul.

I: Istanbul? [surprised]

V: It was shot down, but it reached it.

I: From Iran to Istanbul?

V: It reached it, yes — which is exactly what Ukraine has been talking about for two years.

I: And nobody listens; everyone thinks it’s just stories.

V: The principle of the “roasted rooster”.

I: Exactly — the moral of the story is…

V: Back in 2015, we started saying that it’s not all that simple. Who listened to us? Who listened to us “ATO-ers” [veterans of the Anti-Terrorist Operation] until ’22?

I: Did you fight in the ATO too?

V: I’ve been fighting for 11 years now.

I: Oh, right, you said that, my apologies. And what is your name?

V: Viktor.

I: Viktor, I’m [Interpreter]. Nice to meet you. And do you live in Kharkiv or in another region?

V: I live way out near Berdychiv.

I: Berdychiv? Oh, we drove through it, we even stopped there for half an hour —  even went out and walked around there, in Berdychiv.

V: There’s nowhere to walk there. The mayor is destroying the city. It used to be a flourishing, beautiful city, but now the mayor is destroying it.

I: Maybe you’ll have a goal to fight the mayor a bit?

V: I won’t fight the mayor, I’ll fight the head of the region.

I: Even better.

V: Because the Zhytomyr region was famous for growing malt for beer, and they just started destroying it.

I: Crap. That must be for money, some kind of kickbacks.

V: Of course, what else? To grow hops, you need special soil. But these “animals”  [local officials] found stone underneath it.

I: I see.

V: Well, no matter, a few more “crazy” guys like me will return.

I: Well, there you go — get together, organize, and everything will be “chiki-puki” (all good).

V: And we’ll fight.

I: Thank you very much.

V: Alright, thank you too.

I: Goodbye.

V: Goodbye.