He has never fired a gun before, but 27-year-old Tim Maxymenko says he sees no other option but to go back to his home country to fight.
The Ukrainian-born artist, who is based in London, studied art at Wolverhampton University under the Erasmus programme. He is flying to the southern Polish city of Rzeszow on Monday and plans to travel to Ukraine later this week to join the resistance to the Russian invasion.
When he was 18, Maxymenko took part in the 2014 revolution that ousted the previous pro-Russian government.
“It is a very similar feeling to 2014. We have a lot of people who are ready to fight for freedom. Of course I’m scared, but I’m very angry, and there are no other options. I can’t imagine life without doing this.
“We can’t go to Moscow and stop Putin. But we can protect our land. And this land is the place of this fight for freedom.
“I’ve never fired a gun, but I threw molotov cocktails in the revolution. If you cross the border into Ukraine, you can go to a military office, then you can sign up for the territorial defence agency.”
He added: “For the first few days we will transport helmets and jackets for soldiers to the border. I want to do whatever is most helpful at the moment. I feel more energetic that we can do something. I have that fight inside of me – emotionally I want to go to do something.”
Maxymenko says he is “no fan” of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but says he is doing the right thing by resisting Russia’s invasion. “I’m happy he is making these videos,” he said.
Maxymenko welcomed comments by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who said on Sunday the UK would support those travelling to fight in Ukraine. “I love this feeling of togetherness. The UK government is one of the more helpful governments in its understanding of the situation,” he said.
Truss’s comments have been criticised as irresponsible, with former attorney general Dominic Grieve warning that it would be illegal for Brits to head to the Ukraine to fight.
Harry Jackson, 27, from Bedford, is the founder of UK Aid for Ukraine, a Facebook group dedicated to supplying military and medical aid for Ukraine. He says he has been inundated with messages from UK citizens wanting to know about volunteering to fight in Ukraine.
He said: “I’ve been in contact with probably about 20 or 30 Brits just in the last two days who are messaging me saying me and saying, ‘I want to fight: who do I need to speak to, where do I need to go?’”
“I’m putting them in touch with Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgia foreign fighters legion.”
Jackson shared some of the messages from would-be British volunteers. One said: “I’m serious about going, but I’m in two minds as it’s probably a one-way trip.”
On Saturday Jackson, who works for a sustainability company in Cambridge, sent a vanload of supplies that included 57 military helmets, 10 flak jackets and 600 field dressings to the Ukrainian club in London. He says it was was picked up from his home in Bedford by four men on their way to fight in Ukraine.
He added: “A lot medics have offered help, including one guy who is taking a field ambulance to Ukraine. And two or three lorry drivers offered to help to get stuff to Ukraine.”
Jackson, who is married to a Pole who has an aunt based in Ukraine, said: “How can you just sit back and watch?”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/i-want-to-fight-ukrainian-in-britain-plans-to-join-defence-of-his-homeland
