He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
When he and his patrol hit.
The streets of Cherkasy.
Men often swerve.
To avoid them.
Most of those.
Who wanted to fight.
Are either dead.
Injured or.
Who wanted to fight.
Are still stuck at the front.
Waiting to be relieved.
By new recruits.
In the central town.
Of Cherkasy.
Like elsewhere.
Finding them isn’t easy now.
That the first burst.
Of enthusiasm.
And energy has faded.
Ukraine is exhausted.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
“I don’t get it.
People are out and about.
Like the war is.
Somewhere far away.”
“But this is.
A full-scale invasion.
And it’s like people.
Still don’t care.”
He is frustrated.
By what he sees.
As indifference.
“We need everyone.”
“We need everyone.
To come together.
Like they did.
On the first day.”
“Everyone was.
United then.
like brothers.”
He is frustrated.
Instead, the security service.
In Cherkasy is constantly.
Shutting down local.
Social media channels.
That warn people when.
The conscription teams.
Are in town and.
Alert them to areas to avoid.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
At 24.
He has sacrificed.
A lot for.
His country.
He grew up dreaming.
Of being a soldier.
His eyes light up.
When he remembers that.
And he was serving.
In the army in February 2022.
When ‘orcs’ troops rolled.
Across the border.
He fought near Kyiv.
Then Soledar.
In the eastern Donbas.
Where the battle was brutal.
That first summer.
He was moved to Bakhmut.
“We came under heavy fire.
A shell landed next to me.”
“I lost my whole elbow.
There was nothing left.”
He says, describing an attack.
In which he was badly injured.
He managed to.
Crawl beneath.
A bush and.
He began to pray.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
The soldier admits.
That getting to hospital.
Was a huge relief:
Not just because he’d survived.
But because he was.
Finally off the front line.
“It was hard there.
I can’t even put it into words.”
He looks down.
And falls quiet.
His injuries.
Were severe.
His right arm was amputated.
Below the shoulder.
He still feels pain.
Where his limb is missing.
And he has shrapnel.
In his leg.
His basic prosthetic.
Gives him limited movement.
But he wanted.
To go on serving.
So he became.
A conscription officer.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
After all he’s been through.
You wonder whether.
He understands why.
Other men evade the draft.
“One day, their children.
Will ask what they did.
During the war.
When the men were fighting.”
“When they reply.
‘I was hiding.’
Then they’ll plummet.
In the children’s eyes.”
He says firmly.
And yet the price Ukraine is.
Paying to defend itself.
Is already immense.
When you ask him.
Whether he’s lost friends.
In the fighting.
He admits that.
There’s “almost no one left”.
From his entire company.
“The only ones left.
Are injured like me.”
“The others are dead.”
And yet the price Ukraine is.
Paying to defend itself.
Is already immense.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There’s no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
*Because I read “Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line” by Sarah Rainsford on 12 Feb 2024, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of Pavlo.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line – BBC News
