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How we tell the daily life of Ukrainian soldiers on the Eastern Front
Audio 21:26
Ukrainian soldier on the front belonging to the Karpatska Sich battalion, June 1, 2022. © Sébastien Németh/RFI
By: Alexandra Cagnard Follow
2 mins
Sievierodonetsk has been the scene of fierce fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian soldiers for several weeks.
Sébastien Németh, journalist at RFI and Jad El Khoury, sound engineer, were on assignment in the region of this strategic city in eastern Ukraine.
They were able to get closer to the front line with the Ukrainian soldiers.
They recount the determination of the soldiers and their daily life on the rear bases.
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In this episode of
Witnesses to the news
,
Sébastien Németh and Jad El Khoury
explain that the Ukrainian soldiers receive many requests from the media to accompany them in the field.
Some are refused, but in general, the soldiers want this war to be shown and relayed.
We discuss the commitment of the Ukrainian people to win this conflict.
This determination is also felt among the soldiers: “
The Ukrainian soldiers keep repeating that it is their land, their country and that they will fight until the end.
The commitment of civilians to this war effort is also remarkable, whether children, women, men, they are ready to do anything to win this war
”.
To also cite as an example the large number of volunteers who are involved with career soldiers, some sometimes come from very far away: “
We met Peruvians, Brazilians, Colombians.
They had all seen in their respective countries, images of this war, civilians killed, violence and they were shocked.
They dropped everything, abandoned everything, sometimes sold their house to find themselves in Ukraine without even speaking the language and the chemistry works
”.
It was the third time that Jad carried out a reporting mission in Ukraine and he also testifies to the evolution on the ground: “
I saw more destruction, less civilians, the bombardments became more intense.
Some cities are now inaccessible.
I also noticed that there were more gasoline shortages, more electricity and water cuts
”.
Both stress the importance of working in pairs on this type of terrain: “
It's essential for two things, explains Sébastien.
The technical side with the sound recordings and the mixing which are essential for the quality of the reports and the security aspect
”.
“
With Sébastien
, says Jad,
we made regular points before each start in the dangerous zones.
While he takes care of his interviews, I also take care of the security aspect.
I check if everything is fine and how much time we spend in the field, if I feel that it is too long and that the security risk is growing, I inform him that we have to go, that we have to leave
”.
► To complete this episode, you can listen to reports by Sébastien Németh and Jad El Khoury.
Ukraine: hell from one front to another
War in Ukraine: on the front line, with the volunteer battalion Karpatska Sich
Donbass: the anger of Ukrainian soldiers at the front
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