World

Ukrainian Jewish Reservist Anxiously Awaits Call-Up

Thursday, February 24, 2022 8:54 am | 2 Minute Read

By Yossi Golds

Rescuers work at the crash site of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Antonov aircraft, which, according to the State Emergency Service, was shot down in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Thursday. (Press service of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Handout via REUTERS)

A Ukrainian Jewish reservist spoke to Hamodia from his home in a town in the Poltava region of Ukraine on Thursday, but conditioned it that his name not be released, due to security fears.

“The Poltava region is about 3 hours away from the Russian border, and 2 hours away from Kharkiv,” said the 27-year-old man, who works as a general-interest journalist for a local newspaper, and currently is at home, pondering the next step.

“I have been doing basic military training with a nationalist group for about two months, mainly shooting and first-aid training.

“In general the Ukrainian nationalists – and especially their leaders – are very anti-Semitic and into Slavic supremacist ideology, but I don’t look Jewish. There is only one person who knows that I am Jewish; the one who introduced me to the group.

Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

What kind of training have you been doing?

“In the past weeks we have been training almost every day, and just this Tuesday we packed basic supplies to take, if necessary. My family laughed at me and saw that as unnecessary. It hasn’t taken long, and now we are at the verge of a full-fledged war.

“In an instant, Ukrainians found that war, after weeks of warnings, had hit home.”

Is there any current military activity in your area?

“Currently there’s nothing happening in the nearby region, but we are prepared for any eventuality. In training we have been told that you can’t try to save everyone, and if there’s an attack, you have to focus on a few people to save, as many as you can, but one must know that he can’t save everyone.”

Is your town more Russian or Ukrainian?

“The town itself was once mostly Russian-speaking, and I actually speak Russian with the family, but in the past years nobody would dare to speak anything besides Ukrainian in public.”

In the case of war reaching your town, are they are facilities to help the residents?

“There are a few Soviet-era factories with bomb shelters, but that’s only enough for a few hundred people, out of about 5,000 residents.”

We wish you much success and hope that you are not needed to be called up in the end.