A Ukrainian volunteer guarding an inner ring of defence in Kyiv has vowed ‘we will shoot in all directions’ as Russian troops advanced.
Andriy Kozinchuk, a psychologist, spoke to Metro.co.uk tonight as his people’s militia unit came under attack after they received multiple warnings of an imminent bombardment.
The 37-year-old said the savagery of the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin had led to soul-searching among children and adults, but he was prepared to kill to protect his homeland.
He told how a comrade’s nine-year-old daughter had asked him, ‘why do people want to kill me?’.
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The veteran is among thousands of volunteers who have rallied to defend the city, with fears of colossal loss of life if the Russian President’s forces use thermobaric rockets, which deliver a wall of fire, and heavy weaponry.
The Anglophile said ‘it will be a hard night’ and, if he survives the war, he wants to try British fish and chips.
He spoke with Russian troops thought to be just 15km away from his position, with his last message saying ‘we are under attack’. He did not specify where or if this was from air or ground forces.
Mr Kozinchuk said: ‘I’m a psychologist and I talk to our guys, and we can’t understand why, we are a peaceful country.
‘We saw pictures of our people going underground and children crying.
‘One daughter of our guys, she’s nine, and she asked, “why do they want to kill me?” I want to ask that too, we don’t understand.
‘We are really, really angry. We want to smash a tank, or shoot them, it’s not good for a human to want to kill somebody.
‘We are not killers but we have these feelings. It’s not normal.’
Mr Kozinchuk, who has a tattoo meaning ‘I’ve got your back’, is divorced but regularly speaks to his ex-wife, who is an officer with the defending forces.
His team is among thousands of ordinary Ukrainians who have rallied round after a call from the government to defend the city, with some grabbing rifles handed out by the authorities and others bringing their own weapons.
The veteran previously served as a military psychologist, which included service during the conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbass region which broke out in 2014.
He then continued his profession in a civilian capacity and just a few days ago was in a school speaking to teenagers about coping with the mental health impacts of war. ‘We are a group, we are veterans, we have anti-tank missiles, NLAW [Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon] and we know how to use them,’ Mr Kozinchuk said.
‘We are veterans, we have experience of battle from 2014, we haven’t had time to go to the army for training, so when the bombing started we had more and more come to us if they have experience of war and if they have guns. Our team are really strong and we are ready.’
Determined resistance has greeted Mr Putin’s multi-pronged assault on Ukraine, estimated to have involved 150,000 troops, with the capital holding out on the fourth day of fighting.
Mr Kozinchuk said: ‘We can hear the fighting, maybe 15km away, they have missiles, rockets and aircraft.
‘But our troops have destroyed their airbornes [troops] and planes.
‘I saw the Russian news saying no soldiers have died, it’s bullshit. Thousands of Russian soldiers and officers have died and they have no mobile cells [phones]. They don’t know what’s going on.’
Ukrainians have put up fierce resistance on multiple fronts, but it is unclear how long the city can hold out against a militarily superior force.
Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor, said Kyiv was ‘encircled’, speaking as civilians sheltered in the subway system and with supplies of food and medicine dwindling. His press team later clarified that his comment was not meant to be taken literally, and routes to the south were still open.
Mr Kozinchuk said: ‘Maybe Kyiv is surrounded but it’s good, because we can shoot every side, no matter, it’s ok, we are ready for it.
‘Surrounded? Welcome to hell, Russian troops.’
Mr Kozinchuk, a university graduate, was a military psychologist before continuing his profession in a civil capacity.
‘My profession is perfect, I really adore what I’m doing,’ he said. ‘I want to use my knowledge more and more every day, because now we have a lot of civilians and military who can’t sleep or are crashing.
‘I’m not a bad psychologist and I love people, I’m human, and it’s normal for me to say that I love people, but today, no, sorry.’
Amid reports of an imminent attack, Mr Kozinchuk told Metro.co.uk he would speak again in the morning, ‘if I survive the night’. He also said he wants to visit the UK, which he regards as his country’s top ally.
‘The UK is the next nation to Ukraine,’ he said. ‘I want to come over there and have a plate of that interesting food you have.’ Told about fish and chips, he replied: ‘That would be nice, I’d like to try some.’
Mr Klitschko told the Associated Press today that ‘right now we are encircled’ and that ‘the most important question is to defend our country’.
While he was speaking figuratively, satellite imagery released this morning showed hundreds of military vehicles, including tanks and artillery, moving in the direction of the capital from around 40 miles away.
‘I’m in the central part of Kyiv and we are waiting for bombing and a lot of columns of tanks and armoured transport going to us,’ Mr Kozinchuk said.
‘I know that they want to shoot our anti-aircraft defences, so we are trying to defend the central part of Kyiv.
‘We are prepared to stay. It will be a hard night.’
Street fighting, said to involve groups of Russian special forces and paratroopers, has broken out in Kyiv, with battles also raging to the north.
Attempts to take the capital have so far been repelled, with the advance said by the British government to be behind schedule.
At least 352 Ukrainians, including 14 children, have been killed during the invasion so far, according to the country’s health ministry.
The number of Russian military dead or wounded was previously put at 4,300, although this figure has not been verified.
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