The Ukrainian soldiers at the front are fighting under very difficult conditions, according to Sten, whose real name is something else. The availability of food and clothing is low, he says.
– I have seen soldiers in a winter environment walking around in the mud with copies of Nike sneakers. It’s a suffering that I don’t think we see here at home, he says.
“Russia attacks volunteers”
Sten joined Hospitallers Ukraine in March 2022. It is a healthcare battalion consisting of around 500 volunteers.
He remained in Ukraine until December last year when he traveled home for a funeral of a Swedish colleague, who died during a medical intervention. Now he has traveled back to Ukraine.
The goal is to stay until the war is won or descends to a calmer level, he says.
The reason he wants to remain anonymous is partly because he doesn’t want to be known. But there is also another, much more serious reason:
– Unfortunately, Russia is targeting volunteers. We create a lot of support for Ukraine when we talk about our experiences in the media, and increase the pressure on Western governments to send more aid to Ukraine.
False death notice
He talks about how Russian media published a fake news story about one of his American colleagues after she appeared in the media with her name and picture.
– They reported that she had died at the front. This fake news reached her family before she could reach them herself. I would very much like to spare my family from that kind of harassment.
What drives the Swedes to risk their lives in Ukraine? See more about the foreign volunteer soldiers in Foreign Office: The Swedes at the front on SVT Play.
