Anton Drobovych: We will not get tired of the war nor surrender

Anton Drobovych, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, a Ukrainian public and statesman serving in the Armed Forces since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, published a post about war and victory.  

War is one of the most senseless things in the world. Only foolish, sadistic, or deeply unhappy people can start, love, or want it to continue.

It takes away life or health from some, freedom or love from others. It is indeed capable of taking away the voices of the muses for a while and baffling science.

War demonstrates very well how imperfect human beings are. It shows how much irresponsibility, cruelty, fear, laziness, hatred, ingratitude, limitations, and stupidity we have. We should not think that only the enemy occupiers are like this, and we are all beautiful paladins in shining armor without sin and reproach – we also have enough of this; it’s just not time to tell it all in color. There will be time later.

Of course, it also contrasts other things, such as heroism, loyalty, generosity, self-sacrifice, leadership, courage, talent for working with people, wisdom, and friendship. However, since there are more human flaws and they are easier to perform, the “harvest” of evil is richer.

Probably the most valuable discovery of the war for me was how much love and kindness have always been in my life and how many good people and events. The stronger the nostalgia and contrast because the battle is always a modus operandi of hatred and rage.

Professional warriors are like specialists in rare diseases or firefighters to me: they spend their whole lives practicing how to defeat death and destructive elements, mastering the tools and subtleties of the profession to stop and win faster. But we would be happy if their skills, professionalism, and mastery remained potential, unused to the fullest extent.

Hundreds of thousands of volunteers who had never known war before were in fact, volunteers who came to help stop the great evil that had come to our home. Indeed, a nation of volunteers.

It seems to me that you can never be fully prepared for war and its consequences. You can learn to use weapons and technologies, get used to or even master military procedures and crafts, but this will not help you get used to war.

In almost a year and a half of service, I have not met a single person who praised the war, wanted it, or wished for its continuation. Some opportunists have gained or snatched something from the war, but they belong to one of the three groups I mentioned in the first paragraph.

That’s why we must win – we don’t need this war. It was imposed on us by Russian military aggression, condemned by the majority of the civilized world not only officially at the UN level but also the level of simple human truth – those who come to seize someone else’s property and take the lives of innocents cannot be supported.

That is why the world should not expect us to get tired of the war or give up. When the enemy commits war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocidal acts of the scale the Russians are doing here; there is no choice. We have to fight to the end – to freedom, to victory.

And, of course, I want to go home. I really want a normal life, not all this. Somewhere far away, you can just lie on the grass and hug someone you love, pick cherries in your garden, read lighthearted stories, drink chilled wine, or debate Kant’s antinomies until you are hoarse or…

Take care of each other and keep going, however long it takes.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/anton.drobovych