War ravages territories and lives, but also cuts souls, often wounding them forever. “I never thought I would feel satisfaction looking at the bodies of Russian soldiers,” drops Maryna Khromykh, a 35-year-old Ukrainian. But every time I see one, that’s what I feel: happiness and satisfaction. By sowing death and devastation among 43 million Ukrainians, Russia has instilled a deep rage towards its government and its army, but also sometimes towards its entire people.
Reached at her home in kyiv, Maryna Khromykh said she was surprised to feel these emotions. “If someone had told me a year ago that I would feel this way, I would have said ‘but no,'” she continues. I understand that is not good. But war makes us different, at least for as long as it lasts. »
Now managing director of the DEJURE Foundation, which campaigns for the establishment of judicial reform in Ukraine, the 35-year-old professional previously worked in the field of human rights. “If even people like me [qui croient à la règle de droit et abhorrent la violence] are happy to see Russian military bodies, what about those who were not sensitive to human rights before the war? she asks herself with dread.
But how to keep his cool when for eight months, horror stories – where civilians are targeted, raped and tortured – parade unabated? “Every time I hear these stories, it’s so painful,” reports Maryna Khromykh. I feel deep rage and even fury. »
No mercy
Also residing in kyiv, Julia, a 19-year-old student, says she feels no pity for the Russian soldiers who lose their lives in Ukraine. “They came here to kill us,” she recalls, referring to the “genocidal” gestures that Russia is making against Ukrainians. “Russia kills civilians because it loses on the battlefield,” she condemns. [Ses forces] ignore all standards and have no morals. »
According to the young woman, who is studying translation, it is not only the Russian government and army who are responsible for the military invasion of her country, but all the citizens of Russia. “If Russians want to prove to Ukrainians that they are innocent, they must actively campaign against the war and not be afraid to stand up to Putin’s government. They shouldn’t be afraid to go to jail to defend their values. »
The eventual victory of Ukraine would be the victory of the “civilized world over the infernal demon”, analyzes Julia, who however says that she does not have enough energy to hate the Russians. “I dream that they simply don’t care about our existence,” she says.
The student nevertheless hopes for the dismantling of Russia as we know it today. “Russia must lose the war and be destroyed into smaller nations,” she said. Russia is currently made up of 21 republics (bringing together peoples from the Caucasus, Turks, Mongols and Uralians), including Chechnya, Tatarstan, North Ossetia, Dagestan and Buryatia. “These nations are currently living under Russian oppression, and their members are being sent in greater numbers to fight and die in Ukraine,” Julia denounces.
“terrorist” state
Mamuka Mamulashvili also believes that Russia within its present borders will no longer exist at the end of the war, and that the weakened country of Vladimir Putin will be fragmented. The 44-year-old is at the head of the Georgian Legion, a formation made up of around a thousand professional fighters mainly from Georgia, but also from around thirty other countries, officially integrated into the Ukrainian army. .
Currently, the Legion, split into units of about twenty men distributed on the eastern and south-eastern fronts, is assigned exclusively to special operations. “We target Russian officers, command centers and technical equipment such as radio systems,” explains the man from Georgia.
Since he was 14 years old, Mamuka Mamulashvili has devoted his life to fighting against Russia (Abkhaz war, Chechnya war, Russo-Georgian war and Donbass war). “It’s very difficult to be Russia’s neighbour”, he denounces, saying that he has to constantly fight “to protect freedom”. Last spring, the serviceman was among the first soldiers to enter the outskirts of kyiv after Russian forces withdrew. “There were bodies of raped children and women whose hands were tied,” he rages, not mincing his words with regard to all of Russia.
“It’s a terrorist state, including its wives and children,” says the commander sourly. But isn’t there a difference between the Russian government and army, and the citizens of the country? “There’s no difference,” the man replies bluntly. In the same way that German society was poisoned during the Second World War, today we see that Russian society is sick and does not respect any rule in the world. »
Today like tomorrow, reconciliation with Russia is inconceivable, he says. “Ukrainians and Georgians will never forget the atrocities that the Russians committed on our territories and against our peoples,” maintains Mamuka Mamulashvili.
Custom bombs
For his part, Serhii Fishchuk, a 28-year-old professional who joined the army in the early days of the war, says he does not know whether or not he has killed Russian soldiers since February 24. “It may sound really harsh, but I don’t feel any negative emotions [à l’idée d’en avoir peut-être tué], he mentions. It is my duty to defend my people. »
Posted on the front line in eastern Ukraine, the soldier sends the Russian army grenades on which are written messages written by hand. “I write messages in Ukrainian that people send to me”, he explains, like “Burn in hell” or “For the doctors who lost their lives in Ukraine”. A gesture perhaps destined to purge anger or even to galvanize it, which one can probably only understand by having lived in a country where souls have been eaten away by war.