Ukrainian soldiers have had to adapt quickly and learn new skills as the course of the war has changed — even resorting to watching YouTube videos to figure out how to fire anti-tank missiles.
Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces examine new armaments including NLAW anti-tank systems and other portable anti-tank grenade launchers, in Kyiv on March 9.Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces examine new armaments including NLAW anti-tank systems and other portable anti-tank grenade launchers, in Kyiv on March 9.
"Then the commander says, 'Oh, it's ours! It's ours!'" recalls Volovyk, who goes by the nickname Raptor."So, we did not fire.As the war has changed over the months, Ukrainian fighters like Volovyk and Nikitin have had to adapt and learn new skills. Anatoliy Nikitin, left, a 40-year-old who runs a construction company, and Stas Volovyk, a 33-year-old software engineer, in the southern city of Mykolaiv in late August.Anatoliy Nikitin, left, a 40-year-old who runs a construction company, and Stas Volovyk, a 33-year-old software engineer, in the southern city of Mykolaiv in late August."It was total chaos," recalls Nikitin, who is 40, wears a salt-and-pepper beard and heads a construction company.
The Russians began to retreat from the Kyiv suburbs in late March. After this, the two men followed orders and headed south to fight a very different kind of war. They left behind the protection of suburban buildings and forests outside the capital for sweeping farm fields with little cover. They started at the bottom: working the trenches.Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty ImagesUkrainian servicemen dig a trench near Barvinkove in eastern Ukraine on April 25."It sucks," says Volovyk.
They now operate drones and serve as the eyes of the artillery, helping to guide fire on everything from Russian tanks to ammunition depots in the Kherson region.
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