Many Ukrainian soldiers are exhausted from fighting against Russia. Their wives are mobilizing in several large cities to demand from the authorities that they be demobilized.
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The war is getting tougher in Ukraine. Russia is on the offensive in the East, while the Ukrainian army is struggling and lacking soldiers. Those who have been fighting for almost 20 months now are physically and psychologically exhausted. Faced with this bogged down conflict, thousands of Ukrainian women are now speaking out to ask the authorities to demobilize them.
An air alert has just sounded in kyiv, the demonstration will have to start in a metro shelter. There are around 600 demonstrators, wives, mothers and even sisters of soldiers. Inna is wrapped up in her coat. Her 7-year-old little boy, too emotional to express himself, squeezes her hand. “My son wrote a letter to Saint Nicholas and asked that his dad be released from the army.Our biggest wish now is not to have a phone or anything hardware. He just wants his daddy to come home.” says Inna. “My husband has been in the war for almost two years”she adds. “And in all this time, I’ve only been able to see him twice.”
“The men who have been fighting since the first day of the war are exhausted.”
Anastasia, a Ukrainian womanat franceinfo
In the compact crowd, Anastasia, 37, has a petition signed. In a few minutes, there are already 175 signatures. The petition calls on the president to demobilize soldiers who have been serving since the start of the war. “Most are injured,” deplores this soldier’s wife. “They are exhausted morally and physically. We really need to replace them with new recruits.”
Demonstrations in all major cities
Anastasia is also worried about her husband, who is injured and psychologically exhausted. “My husband is suffering from several traumas. He is exhausted, totally exhausted,” she laments. “He has chronic illnesses, including diabetes. He suffers from trauma from the shells. He is so exhausted that he wants to go home. But he is forbidden to do so, so he continues to fight. He continues to serve but he only wants one thing: to be replaced.”
To those who accuse her of wanting to demobilize her husband and of lacking patriotism, she responds firmly: “An exhausted army will do nothing against the enemy. We really need a new mobilization.” More and more soldiers’ wives are demonstrating in kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and in all the country’s major cities.