“It was my desire, my wish,” Olena said, wiping the tears from her eyes as she struggled to overcome her emotions to speak. “I can’t stay at home and do nothing when our children die.”
In a field in the south of England, Ukrainian army recruit Olena, a 46-year-old mother from Kyiv with no military experience, is being put through the paces by Australian armed forces.
Olena, who will not give her real name to protect her identity and the safety of her family, including her teenage daughter, will return to Ukraine trained up with a military kit and ready to help with the war effort. Ivan, a 31-year-old from the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, is another of the recruits, who said he had never had any desire to join the army.“To tell you the truth, I had a really sweet life. I had my own private business and I started a new relationship with my beloved girlfriend and now she’s in Germany,” he said.
“Everyone coming over here was highly motivated to do the best that we could, preparing them to go back to defend their country and their freedom,” he said. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday watched a training drill involving the Australians, coalition and Ukrainians.
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