More and more Ukrainians living in Latin America volunteer to repel Vladimir Putin's forces. Taras and Nazar Kuzmin are two of them who live in Argentina. One has already returned to Ukraine to fight the Russians. The other is waiting, ready to join his brother in fighting for family roots. Taras, the oldest of them -42 years old- was reunited in Odessa with his father Leonid this Thursday, after a long and tiring trip. The father of the family - who lived for more than two decades in Patagonia - returned to his country four years ago after suffering a stroke. The objective of the brothers is to transfer him to Poland as soon as possible to put him to safety. And stay there to defend your nation.
Taras is anxious, waiting to be able to enter into battle with the Russian soldiers. Odessa - the besieged city where it is now - is about 500 kilometers from Kiev, the Ukrainian capital that strongly resists harassment by Vladimir Putin's troops. Odessa is a strategic location for Russian forces given its port status. It is one of the largest in Ukraine and the seizure of this port is one of the priorities of Moscow. There is already the oldest of the brothers, to defend it as a volunteer. Thousands of Ukrainians come from all over the world to resist.
The youngest member of the family - Nazar, 32 years old - hopes to be able to travel in the first days of April to fight. That is why he is raising money in El Calafate, where he works in the tourism sector.
The Kuzmin landed in Argentina more than two decades ago, in the mid-1990s, at the initiative of their parents who were looking for a new destination for their children. Leonid and Taras were the first to arrive. Their first destination was Buenos Aires, and after a few years and experiences they decided to settle in the south of Patagonian, with which they fell in love on a family trip.
Now, it was other Ukrainian countrymen who finished convincing the family to return and fight, says Nazar, whose family consists of his parents and brother, and says he does not regret the choice to defend his homeland.
His brother, from the Ukrainian countryside, tells us that the decision to travel occurred on the second day of the Russian invasion, previously consulted with his family. Reserve Sergeant, Taras says he has every reason to fight Russian troops: “My family is in bad shape. My 90-year-old grandmother, a survivor of World War II, cannot go down to the basement alone today. My duty as a man, citizen and patriot is to be here,” he says.
Taras talks about fear, something natural in a context of war. “Fear in general no. In war it is a sense of survival, if you are afraid it is natural, only crazy people are not afraid”, he explains. “We Ukrainians were always different from Russians, and we always wanted to be free. When we finally had freedom, they are attacking us again,” he tells from Odessa.
The desire for freedom is what motivated Nazar to travel to Ukraine to be with his brother and father to go to defend the country, whom they intend to transfer to Poland because of his health problem. “This is not a war because they are already bombing everything. This is a crime,” he adds from El Calafate.
Faced with the month-long Russian invasion, the 32-year-old man - who does not have military training, but claims to have mastered weapons of war - decided to enlist for the defense of the city of Odessa and claims to be willing to lay down his life for his Ukraine. His desire is to achieve peace for that country and that the people can live peacefully with their freedom, together with his brother and father who also served for 21 years in the Ukrainian police force.
Ukrainians who live in Latin America and are willing to travel to Ukraine - or have already done so - can be counted in the hundreds. In addition to Argentina, volunteers from Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil joined. For security reasons, most people are not encouraged to give their identities.
Nazar says: “I have no doubt. If I start to doubt it's worse, because it hurts your head,” says the youngest of the Kuzmin family. For his part, Taras says that you cannot explain what is happening and responds that “this is worse than Nazism, this is Russianism. They bomb a hospital with pregnant women on the excuse that there were Nazis or military people there.”
KEEP READING:
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
