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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Ukrainian Army Volunteers - Mendoza
HEAD: International Volunteers in the Ukrainian Army Coming and Going
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 3/23/2022 at 9:55am
BYLINE: Celia Mendoza
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Korczowa, Poland
VIDEOGRAPHER: Celia Mendoza
PRODUCER:
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS: (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st), BR
TRT: 3:21
VID APPROVED BY: KE
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
[[Thousands of international volunteers have come to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia’s invasion. Many are former soldiers and their reasons for coming to Ukraine vary. As VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from Korczowa, Poland, some are now going back home.]]
((NARRATOR))
Jetmir Hyseni is a 22-year-old Albanian who volunteered to fight in Ukraine. He was caught in the recent Russian missile attack on the Yavoriv military base in the western part of the country and shared these images with VOA.
((Jetmir Hyseni, Ukrainian Army Volunteer))
“The Russian military attacked us with the bombs, 30 bombs, and we have 35 persons killed and 134 persons hurt.”
((NARRATOR))
Hyseni, who survived the attack without serious injury, had arrived in Ukraine two days earlier for training.
((Jetmir Hyseni, Ukrainian Army Volunteer))
“Everybody is lost, where can I go now, where can I go, and after everybody went outside just to run, run, run, run. We went into the bunker, protect myself and others. It was a big catastrophe.”
((NARRATOR))
Hyseni left the base and crossed the border from Ukraine to Poland to decide about his future.
((Jetmir Hyseni, Ukrainian Army Volunteer))
"I'm going to my house now. Two days after I arrived, 30 bombs, I'm not ready for that”
((NARRATOR))
Former Colombian soldier Martín Ríos, who is 27, says he enlisted in the Ukrainian army as a volunteer to help defend the Ukrainian people.
((Martín Ríos, Ukrainian Army Volunteer)))) ((IN SPANISH))
“Wanting, like all retired soldiers, to have the privilege of belonging to a cause.”
((NARRATOR))
Ríos is also a survivor of the Yavoriv military base attack. He says there were ten other Spanish-speakers in the large group of men and women from all over the world.
((Martín Ríos, Ukrainian Army Volunteer)) ((IN SPANISH))
“That's when you really see the importance of military training and combat experience. Pérez, fortunately, was able to get out. I was one of the last to leave the lodging, and the moment I left the lodging I felt the first missile, which was the one that sent me into a puddle, and it was only seconds before I was unconscious.”
((NARRATOR))
César Pérez, another volunteer, recorded these images during the attack, which according to Ríos lasted around half an hour.
((Martín Ríos, Ukrainian Army Volunteer)) ((IN SPANISH))
“It is very clear that it is not the first time that I have been in a conflict, but of this magnitude? It’s something different, it makes you consider things.”
((NARRATOR))
A former American soldier is among the volunteers. He arrived in the Ukrainian capital to join the ranks and is now sharing his experience. For security, he prefers not to show his face.
((Former American Soldier in Ukraine )) ((IN SPANISH))
"If you don't have military experience, you shouldn't have come, because it's dangerous and you can endanger the people who are here as well."
((NARRATOR))
For the two volunteers returning home, they say as much as they wanted to help, they are now just looking forward to being with their families again.
((Celia Mendoza, VOA News, Korczowa, Poland))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 23, 2022 09:46 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
