B&B: “What did you feel, killing your enemy?”

Ukrainian Soldier: “First I felt very excited. I got one. They came here to take us over and destroy our country and I killed one. Second I felt sick. The body began to be hard when we approached.

My whole life ‘Do not kill do not kill’ and now I’m being told ‘kill kill kill’ and my heart and mind are arguing about who is right. I do not want to kill but I do. I have to.

I do not want to hurt anyone. I was driving a taxi a year ago and now I am killing Russians on the streets and in fields.”

B&B: “Do you think your life will ever be the same after this?”

Soldier: “Never. The mind and heart cannot heal from these things. To bury a man who died of normal things is normal. To blow men up and try to kill as many as you can is not normal. No life will not be the same for me. Not me or the Russians who live. I want them to go home and leave us.”

– Ukrainian Soldier. Invasion of Ukraine. March 11th, 2022.

This story was documented by Nicholas Laidlaw.

Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.