the weariness and exhaustion of Ukrainian soldiers on the front

As a new year begins, Ukrainian soldiers on the front since the start of the war fear that the fighting will not end in 2025.

“In place day and night, just in case.” As a new year begins almost three years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some Ukrainian soldiers are still on the front lines, constantly on the lookout for potential Russian attacks. For them, exhaustion begins to be felt.

“We have so much work, we no longer have time for anything. Even washing our clothes is impossible,” explains Oleksiy, commander of the anti-aircraft division, to BFMTV.

Within this division, soldiers constantly monitor potential Russian air threats from a secret position in the middle of the Ukrainian countryside.

“When we receive an order, we put ourselves in position and we are ready. (…) We are in place day and night, just in case,” continues Oleksiy.

“Everyone wants to go home”

While they have already lived almost three years at the pace of war, a form of demotivation is looming. “It’s too long. The population is tired of this conflict, society too. There is no longer as much unity as in 2022,” the commander still regrets.

“Every Ukrainian wants peace, everyone wants to return home,” Yuriy, a former worker who became a shooting operator after the start of the war, told BFMTV.

“Look at the situation in Ukraine on the front. In my opinion, the war will not end in 2025,” he regretted again.

Tuesday, December 31, during a New Year's speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the fight must continue “on the battlefield” in 2025, but also “at the negotiating table.”