In Chernihiv, border guards prepare for war
Suddenly, a wave of fear rolls over as I follow several border guard officers down the sandy steps into a freshly dug-out blindage in Girsk. It was made to shelter men from potential Russian gunfire, and somehow inside it the prospect of war feels real.
The Girsk border guard unit is located some nine kilometers from the Belarussian border and 37 kilometers from the Russian one. Hundreds of camouflaged men live here in expectation of a hit from the Russian troops amassed just 15 kilometres on the other side.
“Even the officers from the headquarters start to feel weak at the knees around here,” says Oleksiy Sheremeta, commander of the local unit, who acts as a guide. He said he felt the same early on, “but now I am sort of used to it.”
For the full story, please visit The Kyiv Post.
(Commander of Chernihiv Border Guard Colonel Oleksandr Ptytsia inspects his troops on April 29. Photo: Katya Gorchinskaya)
