Driven by TV advertising and age, hundreds of young Ukrainians are confident that their country will emerge victorious from the conflict with Russia. So they are looking for ways to help with the war effort, mentoring refugees, distributing food and even taking up arms if necessary.
“I am 100% sure that we will win, because the war is in our country. It was the Russians who came to Ukraine, we did not enter their territory. So, the truth is on our side,” he said. Rostislava 23-year-old, who asked not to have his surname revealed for security reasons.
“Ukrainian soldiers are highly motivated and Russians fight for nothing. Our army fights for all the people in Ukraine,” he said. He is a driver and resident of Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, which has not yet been affected by the war.
Rostislav said his older brother enlisted in the Ukrainian army shortly after Russian separatists invaded the country’s eastern Donbas region in 2014. Thousands of young people did the same on that occasion. The military gained prestige in the country and ascended to higher social classes since then.
Ukrainian TV channels do not stop broadcasting news about the war. Most of the images show destroyed Russian armored vehicles, razed civilian buildings and scenes of Ukrainian soldiers fighting proudly and determinedly. The statistics of Russian military and vehicles shot down are also updated daily.
At the same time, the president Volodymyr Zelensky has used social networks and TV to summon the population to the war effort. He said that everyone should help, and anyone who wants weapons to defend their country will receive them.
All these elements added to the patriotism and heroism characteristic of Slavic peoples have created a climate of war euphoria – at least in the west of the country, which has not yet been seriously affected by the fighting.
In some, less common cases, this euphoria borders on immaturity. “The world will take away everything the Russians have. They won’t have Spotify, Netflix, foreign clothing stores,” said another excited young man, who approached me on the street in Lviv and did not identify himself.
They seem to have complete confidence in the statements of the Ukrainian authorities, including the unproven information that says that Russian forces had already exhausted about 80% of their capacity in the first days of the war.
When asked about the progress of the war, virtually any young Ukrainian will tell you that Russian troops are essentially made up of inexperienced 18-year-olds recruited for mandatory military service. They will also claim that the Russians are lost and have run out of gas and food along the way. That’s what Western social media is showing.
Most of these assertions are part of what is called “information warfare”. No one has verified the Ukrainian government’s information that the Russians are already exhausted. According to the BBC, 90% of the approximately 200,000 troops deployed for the invasion are already on Ukrainian territory and there is no information that their logistical supply lines have been interrupted.
The casualty and vehicle wreckage figures reported by both sides are virtually impossible to verify during the war.
The information that most Russian military personnel are inexperienced young people is probably false. Since 2008, Russia has been undergoing a profound process of modernizing its troops. They are no longer based on conscripts (compulsory military service) and are based on hiring professional military personnel, for the most part.
Military equipment has also undergone a major modernization process, according to data from the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
In other words, with just over 10 days of invasion, it is still too early to make predictions for the outcome of the war. In the 2003 Iraq war, it took the United States about three weeks to enter Baghdad and six days to take it.
On the other hand, Western analysts also claim that the invasion would not be going out like the president Vladimir Putin had planned. A quick and definitive takeover of Kiev has not materialized so far and the scenario seems to point to a long-lasting war of resistance.
Propaganda pieces aside, Ukrainian forces have indeed put up a fierce resistance that has apparently taken the Russians by surprise.
In short, Putin has a high chance of winning militarily. But in the long run, the conflict could deplete Russia’s finances and make the country an international pariah, without access to external finance and cutting-edge technology. This could amount to a heavy political defeat for the Russian president.
While the scenario is not defined, thousands of young people, many of them unemployed, have been looking for ways to help. Men are not allowed to leave the country. While some will fight in Kiev’s territorial defense militias or resistance, others volunteer to mentor refugees or wander around the city in search of work.
Even those who decide to take up arms, for the time being, are not sent directly to the front lines. They are being used for tasks such as patrolling the countryside or manning roadblocks. But, that situation must change as the Battle of Kiev intensifies.
Women assume functions linked to logistics and organization. One of them is Irina, who also only revealed his first name. She said she decided not to leave the country, even though it was just a few kilometers from the border.
“I am a citizen of Lviv and I am very proud of it,” she said. She works as a volunteer in front of Lviv’s train and bus stations, in a support tent maintained by local residents. Irina provides information for travelers, helps prepare buses with refugees for the border, organizes and counts people in boarding lines, and distributes hot tea and coffee.
“People come here scared, disconnected from reality, many don’t stop crying. Sometimes the sirens sound (warning of air strikes), but we don’t go to the shelters because there’s a lot of work to do here,” she said.
“I come home at night, I watch the news and I start to cry, I feel helpless. How can I not help the Ukrainian Army,” she said.
Each in their own way, Irina and Rostislav are examples of the euphoria caused by the start of the war – especially in cities that did not experience heavier bombing. They say they have faith that Ukraine will emerge victorious.
As I say goodbye to Irina, she says: “we need people to pray for Ukraine” and gives me a hug. Then, when interviewing Rostislav, I ask a question before saying goodbye: “You know that this story about Russian forces being exhausted is propaganda, don’t you?”
The answer: “Yes, I know, but if we don’t believe that, everyone will be desperate, especially the elders”.
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