In the midst of Russia’s war on Ukraine, a reporter follows Ukrainian volunteers on a dangerous mission to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers – and their enemies
Original by Anna Semeniuk, ‘Дірки нa шкарпетках ворогів’ published in Ukrainian for Zaholovok on March 19, 2025.
I started writing this text at least three times. On each occasion, a new detail came into focus. And all the while something held me back: the fear of crossing the line between humanity and pity, frightened I would breach the fragile frontier separating cruelty from composure, overstepping that delicate boundary between what I truly feel and what should be written down.
