The door to the apartment opens on Saturday, September 28, onto the anguished and tired face of a 24-year-old soldier. It has been seven days since Serhiy Hnezdilov made a radical decision by publicly announcing his decision to“abandon without having been authorized to do so” his unit of the 56e mechanized infantry brigade “until clear conditions of service are established” or until its 25e birthday, the legal age to be mobilized. A desperate way of protesting to draw attention to the lack of prospects of demobilization for soldiers engaged since the start of the invasion, while the army is still struggling to recruit enough men to replace them. “We cannot continue like this: one man has to defend the country until the end of his life, while another simply continues to live normally”explains Serhiy Hnezdilov.
The message, published on Facebook, triggered numerous reactions on social networks and in the country's media. Some see it as a salutary gesture, while others criticize an irresponsible decision which could encourage other desertions, while the armed forces of kyiv continue to retreat in the face of the assaults of the Russian army on the Donbass front.
The scope of the act had all the more resonance as the young man, who volunteered in 2019 during the Donbass war to fight on the Pisky front, in the Donetsk region, already had a small reputation. activist and soldier that he maintained via his Facebook page. Serhiy Hnezdilov was also known for long interviews with Ukrainian personalities, often politicians or activists, which he produced as a journalist for the Ukrainian media Hromadskeas well as for his participation in the organization of a festival on national culture, in the south of the country. Activities which have now earned him numerous criticisms on the networks regarding his legitimacy as a fighter. “I always did it on my vacation time”he explains calmly.
“They are looking for me”
Since his return to the capital, Serhiy Hnezdilov has changed phones and apartments regularly, fearing being arrested by the authorities and sent back to the front. “They are looking for me”, says, rightly or wrongly, the one who smokes cigarettes while observing with concern the comings and goings in the parking lot. He hopes for a high-profile trial to continue to draw attention to the issue. Proof of the sensitivity of his case, he claims that four lawyers have already refused his request.
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Source: Lemonde
