(short story)

He sits on a chair, his arm in a plaster cast, but his eyes are alive and full of determination. Vlad Yakushev, a Lviv-based journalist, writer, and now a marine scout, talks about his injuries with surprising casualness, as if he were listing items from a daily to-do list. “In March, I had two wounds: a shrapnel wound to the head and two fragments to the shoulder… The third one was in the arm, and, to be honest, I did not expect it to be so complicated.” The bullet tore out a part of the muscle, broke the bone, and disrupted the functions of the arm. Now he has to take a break and undergo rehabilitation. But there is no shadow of despair in his voice. Only impatience.

Before the war, Vlad was the editor of the magazine ‘Pulp Fiction,’ immersed himself in dark cases, investigating crimes. At the same time, together with a friend, he created a network of gyms for children from single-parent and low-income families. I wanted to give them a chance, to show them a different path. And then the Maidan started. And he went to Kyiv. After the Maidan, the war started. So he went to war.

It was not a spontaneous impulse. Vlad is a reserve officer with a specialty in radar stations. Back in 2015, when the war was just breaking out, he wanted to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, not the volunteer battalions. Back then, his knowledge was not needed. He had to wait until a vacancy for a press officer appeared. His journalistic experience came in handy. He joined the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Roman the Great.

Two years on the front line. He returned at the end of 2016 with half-functioning lungs — asthma, exacerbated by heavy fighting near Maryinka, where the positions of Ukrainian soldiers were close to the Russians. The pneumonia, he had suffered from, made itself felt. And a tiny piece of shrapnel lodged in his side. At the time, it seemed like a trifle. Perhaps because there was something much worse ahead.

In the interwar period, Vlad took up writing. He wrote the novel ‘The Punishers,’ about the events of 2015-2016 and his experiences in the war. Later, in co-authorship with his brother-in-arms Andrii Lototskyi, he published two more historical and adventure books. On February 23, the day before the full-scale invasion began, he published his personal story ‘Mobilizyaka.’

He says he had no illusions. He realized that the war was not over, that sooner or later it would happen again. When the bombing started, Vlad immediately contacted his comrades. Together, they went to the military enlistment office and formed a ready-made platoon with combat experience. They were recruited into the Marine Corps intelligence.

Now, during his rehabilitation, Vlad is not sitting idle. He is raising money for a big combat quadcopter capable of dropping explosives on the enemy. He says it’s an extremely necessary thing for reconnaissance, because they often find targets for which it is unprofitable to use artillery. While he is here, in the rear, he is trying to do his best to provide his unit with the necessary supplies. Afterward, he will return to the front, and from there “it will be much harder to reach the peaceful land.”

When asked what makes him return to battle again and again, after each injury, Vlad answers simply: “I really want the war to end soon. And there is no other way to make it happen — you have to go to war.” He dreams of returning to a peaceful life, to writing, to writing books for children — “the foundation of our happiness, well-being and awareness of what a state and a nation are.” But now there is no other choice. “Staying at home is not an option. It will not bring our victory any closer.” His voice is full of steel and unbreakable faith in victory. The faith of a man who knows the value of peace and is ready to fight for it to the end.