Ukrainian Soldier Patrolling Chernobyl Says War Deaths Catastrophic

A Ukrainian soldier serving in the Chernobyl exclusion zone wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that Russia’s unprovoked war against his country resulted in “catastrophic” casualties. Artem Chekh previously served in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region from 2015 to 2016, fighting in a conflict against Kremlin-backed rebels that began in 2014 – the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea. Chech said Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in late February, is worse than anything he has seen on the front lines in terms of the sheer number of deaths. “I used to think that I had seen enough deaths in my life. I served on the front line in Donbass for almost a year in 2015-16 and saw many tragedies. But in those days the scale of losses was completely different. at least where I was,” wrote Chech, adding: “This is a different kind of war and the losses are, without exaggeration, devastating.” “We no longer know the names of all the dead: There are dozens of them every day. Ukrainians are constantly mourning those who perished, there are rows of closed coffins in the central squares of relatively calm cities across the country. Closed coffins are the terrible reality of this of cruel, bloody and seemingly endless war,” he added. An estimated 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war so far. Although the estimated Russian casualties are much higher — as many as 80,000 dead or wounded, according to recent Pentagon estimates — it’s still a staggering number after just half a year of fighting. Chech wrote that he “accepted the possibility of my death as almost a fait accompli,” going on to say that “so it must be for those who consciously tread the path of war.” But he said that “the death of civilians, especially children, is a completely different matter.” “And no, I don’t mean that the life of a civilian is more valuable than the life of a soldier. But it’s a little harder to be prepared for the death of an ordinary Ukrainian who was going about her life and was suddenly killed by Russian roulette,” Chek wrote. “It is also impossible to be prepared for brutal torture, mass graves, mutilated children, corpses buried in the courtyards of apartment buildings and rocket attacks on residential areas, theaters, museums, kindergartens and hospitals.” Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, where an estimated 5,663 civilians have been killed since the conflict began, according to the latest UN figures. Chech said part of what Ukrainians are fighting for against Russia is “the right not only to a dignified life but also to a dignified death.” “Let us, the people of Ukraine, wish ourselves a good death — in our own beds, for example, when the time comes. And not when a Russian missile hits our house at dawn,” he said, concluding his article in The Russian aggression destroys the people of Ukraine.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Patrolling Chernobyl Says War Deaths Catastrophic Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-09” author: “Sally Graddy”

A Ukrainian soldier serving in the Chernobyl exclusion zone wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that Russia’s unprovoked war against his country resulted in “catastrophic” casualties. Artem Chekh previously served in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region from 2015 to 2016, fighting in a conflict against Kremlin-backed rebels that began in 2014 – the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea. Chech said Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in late February, is worse than anything he has seen on the front lines in terms of the sheer number of deaths. “I used to think that I had seen enough deaths in my life. I served on the front line in Donbass for almost a year in 2015-16 and saw many tragedies. But in those days the scale of losses was completely different. at least where I was,” wrote Chech, adding: “This is a different kind of war and the losses are, without exaggeration, devastating.” “We no longer know the names of all the dead: There are dozens of them every day. Ukrainians are constantly mourning those who perished, there are rows of closed coffins in the central squares of relatively calm cities across the country. Closed coffins are the terrible reality of this of cruel, bloody and seemingly endless war,” he added. An estimated 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war so far. Although the estimated Russian casualties are much higher — as many as 80,000 dead or wounded, according to recent Pentagon estimates — it’s still a staggering number after just half a year of fighting. Chech wrote that he “accepted the possibility of my death as almost a fait accompli,” going on to say that “so it must be for those who consciously tread the path of war.” But he said that “the death of civilians, especially children, is a completely different matter.” “And no, I don’t mean that the life of a civilian is more valuable than the life of a soldier. But it’s a little harder to be prepared for the death of an ordinary Ukrainian who was going about her life and was suddenly killed by Russian roulette,” Chek wrote. “It is also impossible to be prepared for brutal torture, mass graves, mutilated children, corpses buried in the courtyards of apartment buildings and rocket attacks on residential areas, theaters, museums, kindergartens and hospitals.” Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, where an estimated 5,663 civilians have been killed since the conflict began, according to the latest UN figures. Chech said part of what Ukrainians are fighting for against Russia is “the right not only to a dignified life but also to a dignified death.” “Let us, the people of Ukraine, wish ourselves a good death — in our own beds, for example, when the time comes. And not when a Russian missile hits our house at dawn,” he said, concluding his article in The Russian aggression destroys the people of Ukraine.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Patrolling Chernobyl Says War Deaths Catastrophic Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-22” author: “Derrick Fletcher”

A Ukrainian soldier serving in the Chernobyl exclusion zone wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that Russia’s unprovoked war against his country resulted in “catastrophic” casualties. Artem Chekh previously served in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region from 2015 to 2016, fighting in a conflict against Kremlin-backed rebels that began in 2014 – the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea. Chech said Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in late February, is worse than anything he has seen on the front lines in terms of the sheer number of deaths. “I used to think that I had seen enough deaths in my life. I served on the front line in Donbass for almost a year in 2015-16 and saw many tragedies. But in those days the scale of losses was completely different. at least where I was,” wrote Chech, adding: “This is a different kind of war and the losses are, without exaggeration, devastating.” “We no longer know the names of all the dead: There are dozens of them every day. Ukrainians are constantly mourning those who perished, there are rows of closed coffins in the central squares of relatively calm cities across the country. Closed coffins are the terrible reality of this of cruel, bloody and seemingly endless war,” he added. An estimated 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war so far. Although the estimated Russian casualties are much higher — as many as 80,000 dead or wounded, according to recent Pentagon estimates — it’s still a staggering number after just half a year of fighting. Chech wrote that he “accepted the possibility of my death as almost a fait accompli,” going on to say that “so it must be for those who consciously tread the path of war.” But he said that “the death of civilians, especially children, is a completely different matter.” “And no, I don’t mean that the life of a civilian is more valuable than the life of a soldier. But it’s a little harder to be prepared for the death of an ordinary Ukrainian who was going about her life and was suddenly killed by Russian roulette,” Chek wrote. “It is also impossible to be prepared for brutal torture, mass graves, mutilated children, corpses buried in the courtyards of apartment buildings and rocket attacks on residential areas, theaters, museums, kindergartens and hospitals.” Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, where an estimated 5,663 civilians have been killed since the conflict began, according to the latest UN figures. Chech said part of what Ukrainians are fighting for against Russia is “the right not only to a dignified life but also to a dignified death.” “Let us, the people of Ukraine, wish ourselves a good death — in our own beds, for example, when the time comes. And not when a Russian missile hits our house at dawn,” he said, concluding his article in The Russian aggression destroys the people of Ukraine.

title: “Ukrainian Soldier Patrolling Chernobyl Says War Deaths Catastrophic Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Lavina Williams”

A Ukrainian soldier serving in the Chernobyl exclusion zone wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that Russia’s unprovoked war against his country resulted in “catastrophic” casualties. Artem Chekh previously served in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region from 2015 to 2016, fighting in a conflict against Kremlin-backed rebels that began in 2014 – the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea. Chech said Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in late February, is worse than anything he has seen on the front lines in terms of the sheer number of deaths. “I used to think that I had seen enough deaths in my life. I served on the front line in Donbass for almost a year in 2015-16 and saw many tragedies. But in those days the scale of losses was completely different. at least where I was,” wrote Chech, adding: “This is a different kind of war and the losses are, without exaggeration, devastating.” “We no longer know the names of all the dead: There are dozens of them every day. Ukrainians are constantly mourning those who perished, there are rows of closed coffins in the central squares of relatively calm cities across the country. Closed coffins are the terrible reality of this of cruel, bloody and seemingly endless war,” he added. An estimated 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war so far. Although the estimated Russian casualties are much higher — as many as 80,000 dead or wounded, according to recent Pentagon estimates — it’s still a staggering number after just half a year of fighting. Chech wrote that he “accepted the possibility of my death as almost a fait accompli,” going on to say that “so it must be for those who consciously tread the path of war.” But he said that “the death of civilians, especially children, is a completely different matter.” “And no, I don’t mean that the life of a civilian is more valuable than the life of a soldier. But it’s a little harder to be prepared for the death of an ordinary Ukrainian who was going about her life and was suddenly killed by Russian roulette,” Chek wrote. “It is also impossible to be prepared for brutal torture, mass graves, mutilated children, corpses buried in the courtyards of apartment buildings and rocket attacks on residential areas, theaters, museums, kindergartens and hospitals.” Russia has been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, where an estimated 5,663 civilians have been killed since the conflict began, according to the latest UN figures. Chech said part of what Ukrainians are fighting for against Russia is “the right not only to a dignified life but also to a dignified death.” “Let us, the people of Ukraine, wish ourselves a good death — in our own beds, for example, when the time comes. And not when a Russian missile hits our house at dawn,” he said, concluding his article in The Russian aggression destroys the people of Ukraine.