When Ukraine won its independence 25 years ago, it was with overwhelming support from the Ukrainian parliament and public.
“We got independence at no cost,” said Anatoli Horbenko, a volunteer in the Donbas Battalion. “But now we’re fighting for this independence.”
It’s a fight that has cost Horbenko both his legs and landed him in Kyiv’s Main Military Hospital, where he and many other soldiers marked Ukraine’s 25th anniversary of independence with a traditional meal of shashlyk, cooked by volunteers.
Horbenko joined the Donbas Battalion in 2014 as a volunteer after Russian-backed insurgents stormed Mariupol and seized the southeastern city’s administrative buildings.
“I lived in Mariupol and I saw all that from the inside, I saw who those people were,” he said. “They cheered for Russia and for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. I knew I could never accept that.”
On the morning of June 16, Horbenko was leading a group in Maryinka – the next thing he knew was his legs had been ripped off by a blast.
He was the only one in the group to sustain a serious injury.
Anatoli Horbenko, a volunteer in the Donbas battalion undergoing treatment at Kyiv’s military hospital, speaks with Natalia Kozyna, a volunteer at the hospital, during a barbecue for injured military on Independence Day, Aug. 24. (Anastasia Vlasova)
But for the 37-year-old, it is the price for independence and dignity.
“I knew I would have been embarrassed to look my daughter in the eyes if I didn’t do anything,” he said. “But I know that I did what I could. You need to fight for independence – all countries fight for independence.”
The war in Donbas, which began in April of 2014, has claimed more than 9000 casualties with the number growing each day.
Russia has escalated its war against eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, with two more Ukrainian soldiers reportedly killed in the past week, adding to the 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the two years of war. Overall, more than 10,000 people have been killed since the fighting started in 2014.
Amid the escalating tension between Ukraine and Russia, celebrations in honor of the 25th anniversary of independence were held across Kyiv, with a military parade along the Khreschatyk Street attended by thousands.
Many patients at the military hospital were unable to make their way into the city.
One of them was Vadym Ivakhnenko, a soldier treated in the hospital for a leg injury. He watched the patriotic festivities on television instead. In his six-bed hospital room, Ukraine’s coat of arms, the trident, and children’s drawings, given to the soldiers, hang on the walls while plates of freshly cooked meat and vegetables sit on the small table.
The barbecue was put on thanks to a group of volunteers and funded with the proceeds of a painting sale from Kyiv artist Olesya Tverdokhlib.
Outside, a choir of volunteers serenaded the soldiers with folklore songs in honor of the country’s public holiday.
Having served in the military for 23 years – nearly since the start of Ukraine’s independence – Ivakhnenko said the outcome of war will determine his outlook on Ukraine as an independent country.
“If we don’t win this war, Ukraine will be a little independent in parts,” he said. “The Kyiv Oblast will remain, Lviv Oblast, but they’ll take (parts of Ukraine). They took Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk …but we’re sitting here independent.”
But Ivakhnenko said while the fight has a long way to go, there has been a raft of positive changes within the military.
“I’m happy that the military now is more or less treated well,” he said. “The uniforms are shoddy but at least we’re getting them … before, the soldiers bought their own uniforms.”
Ivakhnenko said from 2009 to 2015 he had to purchase his own uniform.
“There was practically no funding for the army and what was funded was stolen by those same military officials,” he said.
Volunteers cook a barbecue outside the military hospital as a treat for the soldiers who could not attend the celebrations at the Independence Square in Kyiv. (Anastasia Vlasova)
A resigned frustration with the corruption in the Ukrainian Army lingers within the military.
Another patient of the hospital, Andriy, a serviceman who refused to reveal his last name in fear of repercussions in the military, said that he served for five months without pay while his superiors pocketed his paychecks.
“The government gives brigades money and the brigades cuts us off,” he said. “They use morons like me to pocket extra cash. It’s business, nothing personal.”
Sustaining a number of injuries since 2015, including trauma to the spine and ears, Andriy is currently waiting on clearance from the military medical commission of the armed forces to return to the front line.
The commission may discharge him, but despite frustration with the corruption in the military he is hoping to be back on the frontline, fighting for Ukraine’s independence.
“Why go back? Because I’m a patriot,” he said. “I’m fighting till the end.”
