“I’m not just here to avenge my brother,” says Luntik, 20, one of Ukraine’s newest soldiers, as he takes a break from training. He has joined up, he says, to try to liberate the territory of Ukraine from the Russian invaders: “When the thief is coming to your house and you are afraid he might harm you or kill your wife, you will take actions and, if necessary, kill the thief.”
The mild spring day, somewhere in Kharkiv region, belies the seriousness of the conversation. Luntik is one of a dozen or so young recruits, all aged between 18 and 24, who have agreed to join Ukraine’s army before the age of 25, at which men can be forcibly mobilised. The lure is a bonus of 1m hryvnia (nearly £18,000), 0% mortgages and a short one-year contract; the scheme, launched in February, is a fresh effort to repopulate Ukraine’s frontline.
