Many of the Ukrainian soldiers have been at the front for over two years - without a break. Oleg has been fighting for ten years already. "Both I and my comrades are tired. We need rest, we want to go back home to our families. So far we have managed to survive - in the war, which means daily danger to life. But we need recovery," he told German public broadcaster ARD.
Oleg fears that he will no longer be able to cope at the front due to overwork, that he will become a burden. Others tell of nervous breakdowns, of nightmares. Therefore, more and more soldiers leave their positions illegally. Recently, attention was drawn to a soldier who, in protest against the missing rotation, made public his unauthorized discharge.
Ukraine cannot overcome the huge staffing problem at the front, writes ARD correspondent in Kyiv Rebecca Bart. After two and a half years of war, it never managed to develop a fair system of mobilization and rotation, Oleg pointed out to the German public-law media. "If there were clear deadlines for demobilization, the personnel problem would be solved. "My friends watch the military, they hear that there are no deadlines, and that's why they don't want to join the army - they try by all means to get out," he explains. "If there were clear deadlines, they would say to themselves - I will go, I will fulfill my duties and if I survive, I will return."
For now, however, only the wounded and the dead are returning, which in the meantime number in the tens of thousands. Just as many are reported missing or in Russian captivity. Ukraine does not report specific numbers.
Escape to the West
However, while the frontline fighters in the eastern part of the country are being slaughtered, countless people are trying to leave Ukraine in the west.
On the green border with Hungary, patrols look for holes in the fence or for tracks in the mud. They are looking for men subject to mobilization who are trying to escape from Ukraine - because since the beginning of the war, men between the ages of 18 and 60 have the right to leave the country legally only in exceptional cases.
As the border guard Vitaly Vasilovich, who patrols the border, told ARD: "Some start shouting, some are afraid. Some just freeze in place, and others run frantically, there are also people who try to protect themselves. People are different and have different goals. Some are really well prepared. Not everyone stands around and waits to be caught".
Corrupt officials make millions from the human trafficking business. It is not known how many men fled Ukraine. Nor how many were caught trying to escape. The services do not release any statistics because they are afraid that they will present Ukraine in a negative light, border officials told ARD.
Ukraine needs tens of thousands of new soldiers
Kyril did not escape from Ukraine. He wants to stay in his homeland but is hiding from the military. Few weapons and no prospect of demobilization have prompted the 30-year-old to rethink things. "In the first year of the offensive war, I constantly thought of going to the front. But then there was no shortage of soldiers and volunteers. As time went on, it became more and more clear to me that war was not a romantic thing. It's pain, blood and tears."
Kirilo's real name is something else. He does not want to be considered a traitor to the motherland. But it is just like that for those who daily risk their lives at the front, ARD points out.
Ukraine needs tens of thousands of new soldiers as Russian attacks continue. But many of those mobilized are too old, not in the best physical shape and not well trained. They often only survive a few weeks. For Kirilo, this is another reason not to join the army.
"In my case, it's not about obligation, it's about choice. It's even possible that I'd rather decide to go to prison than to the front," says Kirilo and adds that, after all, one can get out of prison, but not from the grave.
Disappointed because they are forgotten
Many of the soldiers gradually lose touch with their old friends. The longer the war continues, the more their contacts with old acquaintances, who lead a seemingly normal life away from the front, decrease, writes ARD.
"It is true that people forget about the war. I've known this situation since the war in Donbas, and now it's the same," says Oleg, who has been fighting for 10 years. "We soldiers are disappointed to be forgotten, especially when we see our comrades die on the battlefield and other people lead normal lives and don't care about anything."
In the center of Kyiv there is a sea of flags, which grows daily, writes the German public-law media. Each flag is placed for one who died. Every day, the number of military monuments in cemeteries in the country is increasing. At night, Russia attacks many parts of Ukraine with missiles, bombs and drones. There is no end to the battles at the front.