Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1497523
waiting for their relatives. In the city, where the toughest fighting has been taking place for a long time now, no sounds of the battle were present. We spent 3-4 hours there. Probably we were lucky and were there during a breather. After returning the guns and ammo, and saying goodbyes to the Legion, we left for Izium. That was not a part of our plan, but the road to Izium has shown us the huge scale of the battle in this region. The „Scorched Earth Tactics" term used by the Russians was quite tangible here. No house was still standing in one piece, even trees were mostly gone. Everywhere, the terrain was marked as mined - leaving the designated path could have led to a tragedy. And that sight was much worse, than what we have seen in Bakhmut. Going back to Kyiv, we also made a stop at the hospital in Dneper. Here we could have met the injured soldiers, coming from the frontline. The words of a doctor are still ringing in my head: he said that all soldiers in this hospital would survive. Considering the number of soldiers with KIA status, that meant that all of them die on the battlefield, most of them because of artillery shelling. The appearance of the wounded was striking. They looked lost, looking around for something. This is how persons suffering from severe trauma look. Two and a half days later we were back in Kyiv. Marcin was arranging further support activities, and Igor finalized his plan and took care of two stray dogs. I, with peace in my head, and with new experiences, could have returned to the country. On our way back we were going through Irpin and Bucha. These cities were also showing the scale of fighting and destruction, especially in the case of the civil infrastructure. There's one thought in my mind when I looked at that: I would never like to see anything like that in Poland. The conclusions that I have left stem from the conversations and observations: Ä The Ukrainians want to fight as long as it takes to reconquer the land that they've lost since 2014 Ä Without the support from the West (rapid military equipment deliveries) they cannot handle the Russians Ä Help for the civilians, especially in the East - is required Ä The aid must be delivered solely to the trusted recipients - many gifts are sold on-site Ä 90% of the Ukrainian soldiers die from artillery shelling, and only 10% are killed by small-arms fire Trusted entities sending help to Ukraine: - Igor Tracz Foundation https://www.instagram.com/igortracz/?hl=en - Marcin Gortat Foundation https://fundacja.mg13.com.pl - "Ponieważ Możemy" Association - "Sprzymierzeni z GROM" Foundation https://fundacja-sprzymierzeni.pl www.fragoutmag.com