Mass Protests by Families of Conscripts in Prykarpattia Region, Ukraine, July 23, 2014

Translated from Ukrainian by Valentina Lisitsa / ENG subtitles by Marcel Sardo

Video: Mass Protests By Families of Men Drafted into the Ukrainian Army – w/ENG subtitles

Note: Video Report Published by Channel 112, Ukraine

Transcript of the Video 

Location of Protests: Prykarpattia Region, West Ukraine

News Anchor: In the Ciscarpathian region (Prykarpattia, West Ukraine) mass protests took place. The main participants are the families of men summoned for military draft. People trust neither local authorities nor military leadership in Kiev. They have many questions to the authorities and they demand immediate answers. More in our video report, coming up next.

Narrator: Yuri Lukyanuk already did his military duty – about 20 years ago. Now he got summons onc again. But under his care are two small children. He has nobody to leave them with.

Yuri Lukyanuk: I take care of two small children. My daughter is in hospital on bed rest [for pregnancy complications], my wife, a migrant worker, is away. What am I to do?

Lubov Dibrova: Why would they take my husband? He is the only breadwinner in the family. And he is not in good health. If they take him to war – let them take me too. How can I live without him?

Narrator: People are afraid that if they let their men go to war they will never see them again. Dmytro has already participated in ATO,  today he is protesting with others. He is on 10- day leave.  He calls his comrades every day.

Dmytro: Now we are dealing with heavy weapons: tanks, mortar launchers, “Grad” rocket launchers … How can we go against them armed with machine guns? It is impossible. It is like a hell over there.

Narrator: Dmytro tells us how they waited for 3 weeks to get reinforcements. All in vain. The local commissary confirms: it is impossible to fight like this.

Igor Pavlyuk, Military Commissary of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast: One can’t fight against Grad rockets. Not with the weapons they are given. You know perfectly well that I complained about it. Though it is above my pay grade.

Narrator: That’s why people question the authorities.

Irina Seredyuk: We want explanation from the authorities, we want guarantees, we want to know why is it that only Western region men are sent to fight in the East. Why the bulk of “Cargo-200” [casualties] arrives to Lviv.

We want to know why Easterners, who should know their territory well, are escaping to the West, hiding here in Mochary, hiding in Bukovel, [BUT members – of Block of Yulia Tymoshenko] hiding in Ivano-Frankivsk,  camping in their tents,  swearing at locals.

Narrator: Protests in Ciscarpathia are in their third day. People are blocking enlistment headquarters, highways, chasing out medical commission experts. They warn – if Kiev doesn’t hear them they will go to Kiev.