It's a sad day for Dennis. An hour ago he returned home and found an army summoning under the door. You must arrive at the county office within 24 hours to check in and depart for your destination. He will have to change clothes and food for two days.
Denis contacted Odessa, found out where they were going to send him, and told him not to worry. He said that he is only an assistant to the shooting center for Russian drones and airplanes, and there is no need to go to the fire line. Denis does not want to participate in battles in the field because he does not want to kill anyone.Their faith, their way of understanding life prohibits it. They tell him that it is not necessary, but they know from friends that if he checks in at the office, he can send him anywhere. “The acquaintance was sent to the front line because he thought he would call and help with the transfer.” He says.
For him, the worst scenario will be sent to Mykolaiv, where the nearest battle is taking place - this city is considered a quarantine barrier in Odessa. When Mykolaiv falls (117 km from Odessa), the Russians will be within walking distance to try to enter the country. In addition, on Tuesday, 14 invading ships were tracked and moved on the Black Sea near the coast of the southern city.
Dennis had only six hours of training last week. He registered as a volunteer and went to the center of the city where he trained 100 to 120 people in basic weapons handling, military strategy and city battles every day from Monday to Monday. It is a huge building (for security reasons it is necessary to keep the location secret), where the army instructor trains civilians for 6 hours. There are four classes: urban combat tactics, firing positions, armed and disarming weapons, and first aid in war situations.
When Denis took the course, he did not think he would need the course, he almost did it as if it were a game, and posted another photo on Instagram with a smile with Kalashnikov. But now he is called to enlist and he is afraid. He is 36 years old and is a gastronomic business. In the restaurant, he employs 50 people and also owns a clothing design gallery. “I serve more to help humanitarian missions, transfer contacts to get stuff for Odessa, move groceries, move people... I'm not good at fighting and I can't do it.” He is now sitting in the car, nervous and scared.
Denis is a cheerful person who believes in energy, non-traditional medicine, and meditation.He likes to dance, lie on the beach and sleep. The day before being summoned, he actually took a nap on the sand facing the Black Sea. And we joked about the possibility that the Russians stopped landing so as not to wake them up. Now he has lost his joy, he tries not to lose his mood, but he is nervous. He calls friends and acquaintances, is looking for ways to be forgiven, is a safe act to free enlistment.
Earlier, traveling around the city with him, we were able to go to a training center where we were trained a week ago. Thanks to their contact, after several days of insisting, we were able to approach the place and shoot a movie. The only condition was not to show the face of the instructor or reveal the location. We accept.From then on, the reality became a surreal movie installed on the war set.
Those who want to take the course every day arrive at 8:30 in the morning. They sign up, leave the data and attend the first theoretical class all together.There they receive the first instruction, which is not technical, but motivates them. They explain the importance of this struggle, tell what is at stake, and convince them that many people are not convinced even if they are there. For peace, weapons are needed.
Technical training starts at 10 o'clock.The group is divided into four subgroups and divided into different sections of the building. In the central area, lessons are given on urban combat tactics. They start with the basics: how to handle weapons, where you have them depending on the situation, how to walk with them, how to put your feet and shoulders. In the second module, you will learn combat actions such as entering a group, cross covering, signs of attack, and retreating.
They do everything with real weapons. It is the same weapon that I would give if I was called for battle.Not everyone is equally sure. The faces are mixed with caution to learn how to handle weapons with a certain bitterness.None of the people I see seem to have Rambo in contact with his mission. Rather, those who have already come to training today on the 21st day of the war preferred to avoid it, but they are mobilized with fear or conviction and finally decided that it was better to know than not to know.
In the first aid class, you will mainly learn how to make a tourniquet, which is one of the most common requirements in war theaters. In addition, the injured body is manipulated and CPR is performed. The other two groups are the groups that arm and clean the gun and the shooting group. The first is to familiarize students with AK47. They teach you to assemble, disarm, and reassemble from scratch. In addition, there are ways to load, techniques to correct errors and various shooting modes. After that, it is only a matter of repeating the process over and over again until the rifle becomes a familiar object. It seems that they are focused, armed and disarmed, trying to beat each other quickly, as if it were a race.
“I came here because I wanted to help save my country. Knowing these things is very important. And I don't remember everything until today because I had to remember the training I had three years ago.” Leon, a 23-year-old Odessa citizen, says.
“In these times, we need to be together and strong. And training is very useful. Because all of us here should have the tools to know how to survive the battle.”
Next to him is Tatiana, 21 years old, although he considers it very fun to learn this, but he takes it seriously. She is not a sure fan of war, but rather the opposite. She took a long time to fight the conflict. “At first, I was very confused about what was going on here. It was not easy to choose one side, but now, after several days of fighting, it was already clearer what was happening and I had much more motivation to fight for our country.” He says.
His speech is not strange in Odessa, where Russian is spoken more than Ukrainian, and for many years Ukrainians without Russian ancestors were treated as citizens of poor quality. Today, pro-Russian sentiments were buried in the act of aggression. No one has tried to consolidate the identity of Ukraine as much as Vladimir Putin.
“The greatest motivation is to seek peace in Ukraine and leave a better country for the boys so that they can grow up happily.” Says Maria, another girl who attended the training. She said something similar with her friend Larissa. “The greatest motivation is to save Ukraine's independence, make it better, and there will be lasting peace in the future.”
The shooting class takes place in the darkest classroom.An instructor gives an opening speech. Everyone listens. A girl smiles at what makes her fun, and the professor, who is a professional soldier, says something that seems to be scolding. It seems like a moment of full metal jacket (Born to Kill) again, she asks for forgiveness, but keeps smiling. After a while, when a friend learns to wear bulletproof vests and helmets, she will take pictures and post them on Instagram. Some of them started happening in Odessa. Military training has become a small rage in the network and has become a fashion for posing with guns. Until now, the network trend has never been so much accepted.
The lesson is strict. The instructor teaches you the basics when aiming, shows you how to touch the rifle, where to rest your cheeks, and how to look. Then it's the same thing as the body and the ground. He instructs him to use sandbags to support the gun and teaches him to strengthen the position.When he is ready, he kicks the tip of the rifle to see how stiff it is. If you leave it gently, you can get hurt from the first shot. He says everything is for his safety.Meanwhile, Record the tip of the rifle pointing towards the camera.Unloaded. Maybe it feels strange. After a few hours, you will also learn about the sound of the trigger, the color of the metal, and the weight of the ammunition. Everyone who has been forced to resign somewhat is getting used to the war.
More than 1,500 civilians have already passed through the Odessa training center.Those who have expressed their willingness to continue training go to new training cases in defense of the territory or with the military. According to one of the regional coordinators, no one is obliged to fight because they participated in the training and cannot be called to combat.They speak about preparing in case it is necessary. “If things are in a hurry, of course, we will have to defend the city and give each one a weapon. But for now, it's just teaching them the basics. Of course, it's not enough, but it's the first contact. No one leaves this place with guns.” He says.
Dennis's experience is somewhat contradictory to the official voice. Last week he was also here and it was the first military training in his life.He also uploaded photos and videos to Instagram and posed as if it were a legendary warrior. In every photo - I saw them, and I see them. He seemed happy, provocative, and half-anachronistic. His life was more like a clockwork orange than Born To Kill. Violence was not a specific possibility, but a form of toys that could be used. However, this morning he received a summons and was afraid. He would go to Rivne to meet a relative who had an influence in the army to save him.Their fear and despair are also war.He asks not to take pictures because he is still ashamed not to be willing to kill.
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