Farmers in body armor work Ukraine's frontline fields
STORY: Only a week after the war started, grad rockets began falling right next door to the fields where contract farmer Yurii worked in Zaporizhzhia region.
He now mans a tractor in a bulletproof vest and a ballistic helmet provided by his employer.
Although shelling in his area has increased in recent weeks, Yurii and his colleague Oleksii are determined to plow the fields this spring.
“We go out, pass the checkpoints, get to work, drink tea and coffee, put on our vests and go. We fill up the gas tank and then go to fields. If there is shelling, we pack up and go to the office,” 41-year-old Yurii, who would only provide his first name, said on Tuesday (April 26).
Oleksii, 43, described the rocket attacks as “scary” but manageable, since they often occur at night.
“Then people come and check the fields, and specialists are called in. If it’s safe, trucks take the rockets out. If not, then they choose the measures on site. This is how we fight the war,” said Oleksii.
Russia has said it is carrying out a special military operation in Ukraine aimed at demilitarizing and "denazifying" the country.
