the poignant testimony of the mother of a French soldier who died in combat

Andreas Gallozzi had joined the international legion. He wanted to fight for freedom alongside the Ukrainians. “They were attacked by the Russians and unfortunately his position was hit by a shell and he received a piece of shrapnel in the neck”, testifies Edith Gallozzi, his mother. He had made a cause of this war. His death was announced to the family a few hours later, a terrible moment for a mother. “I screamed. (…) Even if I was prepared, it’s just not possible when you are told that. He was dead. I realized that I would never see him again”said the mother in a sob.

“Come back to us, (…) you lose your life”

Andreas Gallozzi died at the age of 22, in the Donbass region. A former soldier, he knew how to handle weapons and was aware of the risks, he had matured his choice. Edith had tried to dissuade him, in vain. She had finally accepted his decision. “He had told me dozens of times since [son départ] : ‘finally I do something until the end and I know that I am useful’”, she recalls. Since childhood, he was attracted to the profession of arms. Andreas served in a Montauban regiment before resuming a university course in Dijon and becoming a stretcher-bearer in a clinic. His mother appeals to the other soldiers: “Come back to us, (…) you are losing your life. There may be something else to do than by arms”, she cries. Two other French people lost their lives in Ukraine.