Ukraine war diary: A father prepares to leave his kids and fight for Ukraine
USA TODAY Opinion will be presenting the story of Illarion Pavliuk, a renowned Ukrainian writer, documentary filmmaker and journalist. Through his own words, we will offer the story of how he went from father of four to one of the many citizens in Ukraine who have decided to fight back against the Russian invasion.
This is his first dispatch.
Illarion Pavliuk is a renowned Ukrainian writer, documentary filmmaker and journalist. He is also, now, in the fight for a free Ukraine. He spoke with me Saturday from his home in the Western part of the country, after he tucked his children into bed.
On Sunday morning, he told me, he will set out on a dangerous journey to help his countrymen as explosions rock Kyiv, and outgunned Ukrainian forces continue to maintain control of their capital. This, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he needs 'ammunition not a ride.' The call to arms has been made, curfews put in place. Danger abounds. Ukrainians, Pavliuk said, are strong and united; they will not give an inch.
Pavliuk is not a solider, but he does have a military background. In 2015, he was an intelligence volunteer in the war in Eastern Ukraine. And yet, this is what Ukraine has become – a country where internationally acclaimed artists are forced to kiss their children goodnight before they go off to defend their homeland from the occupying force. But it is because of people like Pavliuk that Russian troops are finding their ambitions thwarted.
As he said to me, "We will never give up and we are going to win this war. You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now."
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His words are haunting and powerful, especially as I listen to his children in the background.
"What can I tell you about this war? It is difficult to say a couple of words," he says. "I would never ever imagine my four children dropping their toys and running to sit in the thickest doorway in the house because of cruise missiles above our city; ballistic missiles.
"And I would never imagine this and I will never forgive Russia."
'You cannot defeat the whole nation'
Russia is not foreign to Pavliuk. As a child, he spent 10 years in the eastern part of the country before returning home to his native Ukraine in his late teens. Now, as he prepares to fight for his homeland, he sees pride swell as the assault intensifies.
"In the center of Kyiv there was the huge billboard saying 'Freedom is our Legion' in English," he tells me. "And this is true about Ukrainians. This war is just because of this; because Ukrainians we want to choose our future by ourselves. That's it! And our desire itself was enough for Russia to try to exterminate Ukraine as a State."
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At this point, I am just listening. The pictures from Ukraine have been overwhelming and devastating. Now, listening to this man, who has served on an Emmy jury, who is in the middle of writing his third book, who makes movies, who just tucked in his children, talking about extermination – it's too much. So I listen.
"We will never give up and we are going to win this war," he says. "You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now. So, there is no way for them to win this war. And yes, this is the most horrible war on the European continent after WWII, and yes, this is a war between democratic world and the world of tyranny and autocracy.
"This is just a war of common people who want to live their own lives with their children, speak their own language, whatever – have a choice in this life.
This is a war of people who cannot even explain what they are doing here in Ukraine and why they kill us. That's it."
'Our right to live in our own country'
At this point, I want to thank him, to say something reassuring, to say anything. Instead, he is the gracious one.
"I want to say 'thank you' to all the Americans and the United States because we know and we appreciate, really, the great help and great and fantastic support, and everything you are doing for us, for our freedom, for our choice, and for our right to live in our own country.
"We will never give up. We will never give up."
Godspeed, Illarion.
Carli Pierson is an attorney, former professor of human rights, writer and member of USA TODAY's Editorial Board. You can follow her on Twitter: @CarliPiersonEsq
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine war diary: One father's story of fighting back against Putin
