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Dipped Squirrel Operative
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky
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Catfish has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Nomination Category: Nomination basis: Translated "Ask Me Anything of a Finnish reservist" re Ukraine war in the "Here we go Ukraine once again" thread.
Also a long time member and deserves it ten-fold :)
Forum: General Topics
Nominated Member: Dowly
Nominated Post: Link
Quote:
Here's the Ask Me Anything of a Finnish reservist who volunteered in Ukraine. It was posted in April of 2022.
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I have been in Ukraine as a volunteer fighter since the beginning of the war and now on a couple of days holiday and ready to answer questions here if anyone has any! As long as I don't risk my own or anyone else's safety.
https://i.imgur.com/qKKge9e.jpeg
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Q: What's the vibe? What kind of salary do you get there?
A: Depends on who you are under, in unofficial units there is no pay, in official units under the Ukrainian army the pay is around 8000-9000 hvrynia (~280€) per month and double that if you are in the front line. Nobody is here for the money.
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Q: Is this the first time you have been confronted with life and death? Has the experience changed your attitude towards them?
A: I had a job before this trip where there were some rough spots, but nothing like dodging missiles and indirect fire. Haven't had time to think about it further and will probably leave that thinking there for when I get home sometime.
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Q: What is your working language there? Do you speak Russian or Ukrainian?
A: The working language at the rear and in barracks life is English, depending on the type of unit. In combat situations, the language is usually Ukrainian, you have to know at least the orders and so on. Otherwise there will be problems because most of the guys don't speak English at all or very poorly.
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Q: Have you got to shoot in a real situation? Most people never even get to shoot at the enemy.
A: I am on leave from the fighting in Kharkov. There's been some shooting but you're right, it's mostly indirect fire and air strikes that you have to fear the most these days. Modern warfare sucks in that sense.
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Q: Are you directly subordinate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces?
A: In the old unit yes, in the new one no.
A2: Sorry, I misread the question. I am still under the armed forces but not the army.
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Q: Do you leave the phones and other electronics at the base when you go to the front or to reconnoitre, so that Russia doesn't track the phones and bomb where the thickest bunch is?
A: In an operational unit, yes, but I've seen those situations where guys are literally using their phones a couple of miles off the line because they want to access Netflix. But of course the risk is lower if you have a Ukrainian SIM card and a phone purchased from Ukraine.
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Q: You probably can't be too specific, but what kind of experience did you have when you got there to fight? Just having been in the army was hardly enough?
A: I came in at the beginning of the war and they were even giving guns to people who had no military training whatsoever. Most of them, of course, have already gone home. The first direct missile/artillery/etc. usually drove them away. I myself was just a basic reservist when I came here.
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Q: How true are these stories about the condition/status/morale of Russian soldiers?
A: Morale is low and they have to use a lot of officers on the front lines to get the guys to do anything. Therefore the most effective way to cripple a Russian unit is to just try to get the command vehicle etc out of play and the rest of the group/team/company is completely crippled. The lack of NCOs on either side of the fighting is shocking.
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Q: Question deleted, but from reading comments it must've been about how war hungry someone must be to volunteer.
A: In fact I was a total pacifist and hippy before Putin invaded Ukraine, the deaths of loved ones there changed that a bit.
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Q: How do Ukrainians in general feel about this war? Is a large part of it ready to fight, and what kind of morale is there?
A: Most of them are ready to fight and the problem is even that there are too many volunteers (Ukrainians) and not enough weapons for them and morale is very good. Comparable to our winter war. The whole country is united against Russia at least for the time being.
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Q: In your experience, how does the performance and operation of the Ukrainian army compare or differ from the Finnish Defence Forces?
A: It was only after I came here that I really started to appreciate the quality of the Finnish Defence Forces. It's like the difference between night and day. I could even argue that the Finnish Defence Forces are one of the most cost-effective armies right after the Israelis.
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Q: The picture shows a 5.56 m4, how does it compare to the rk? How about ammunition, when you can't use all the ammunition you can find everywhere? And where did you even get one?
A: I liked the rk better. The M4 feels a bit like an airsoft gun and you feel like you have to clean it twice a day even if you're just carrying it around. And there must be guns from 20+ countries in this country at the moment. You can find everything.
Q: Finland has sent some rifles to Ukraine, so if you come across a rk, would you switch to it?
A: I dare not say with full certainty as I have not seen it myself, but the rifles that Finland has sent here are old folding Ak's that Finland bought in large quantities from China and East Germany. Not RK's.
Q: Do soldiers in Ukraine's own army get to choose the weapon of their choice, or are these 20 countries' weapons reserved for foreign fighters, while their own army fights with its own equipment?
A: Their own army is trained in ak-based so they use them, they have no knowledge or skill in western weapons, the special forces of course are different. Also because of logistics.
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Q: Have you come across any other Finns?
A: Yes.
Q: Can you take a wild guess as to how many Finns are fighting in Ukraine atm?
A: I can't give more precise figures but relative to population, Finland is over-represented here. If that tells you anything.
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Q: Which Finnish brigade did you serve in as a conscript and what was your mission?
A: The sharp-eyed will probably notice the patch of the Guard Jaeger Regiment in the picture.
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Q: What kind of equipment does the basic fighter have? Do most of the people you see have armor plates on their vests?
A: I have some mixed equipment, my own and that given to me by the Ukrainians. I work as a medic so I decided to choose a lighter vest for myself. Level 4 plates, of course.
A2: Yes. As a medic. I don't carry any symbols because after snipers and MG men, we're the first thing the enemy targets.
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Q: Do they really put these volunteers to the front lines, or is it mainly supply work or something like that?
A: Yes, they do. The Ukranians have such a shortage of professional soldiers that even Finnish reservists are in high demand. Of course, there are also a lot of service personnel. According to ability. Nobody is forced into something they don't want.
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Q: What food do you eat?
A: I've eaten quite a lot of chicken porridge. A surprisingly functional combination. Now, though, I'm on leave, devouring burgers with both hands.
Q: How does the leave policy work?
A: It depends entirely on the unit you are in. It's pointless to expect to go on leave every weekend. Of course, if there's an acute emergency in Finland that needs to be dealt with, you can usually arrange it. Of course, depending a bit on whether the unit is on the line or in the rear at the time. I've been here since the first week and this is my first real leave.
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Q: How close have you been to the worst gunfire/air strikes, or what has been the worst situation you have faced so far?
A: The most direct and worst situation was being almost surrounded because of an incompetent commander. At the time I was pretty sure that at best I would spend the next 10 years in a Russian prison accused of being a terrorist and at worst buried in the Ukrainian steppes. But all's well that ends well, with a bit of luck I survived.
Q: Have the commanders on your side been competent for the most part? Do you feel you are in good hands most of the time?
A: Depends. Younger commanders who have been fighting since 2014 are very competent. Older and more senior commanders (those with Soviet training) in my own experience have generally been incompetent in modern warfare. And because of one of them, I almost lost my own life.
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Q: How is the morale of Ukrainian troops on the front line? Surely we are still winning and perhaps even getting a little revenge? Slava Ukraini!
A: Heroyam slava! The war is currently going more for the Ukrainians than for the Russians. The Ukrainians don't want revenge, they just want the Russians to go away.
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Q: Are you part of a group of other foreigners, or how have you been divided up?
A: Currently more Ukrainians than foreigners. In the previous unit only officers were Ukrainian.
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Q: Based on your experience, can you say how good a chance Finland would have of succeeding in defence against Russia?
A: Very good. If Finland received the kind of equipment support that Ukraine has received, not a single Russian unit would be operational within Finland's borders within a couple of weeks of the war starting.
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Q: Hats off to you! What kind of conversations did you have with your loved ones and how did they react to you leaving?
A: They were not very happy but they understood the reasons. They're just worried, of course.
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Q: How would you compare the skill level of a Finnish conscript to Ukrainians and other foreign fighters in general?
A: Finnish conscript training goes a long way here and Finnish reservists are more or less wanted in any unit. Americans and other volunteers from NATO countries don't really know how to fight in a war where they don't have complete air superiority. Especially at the beginning of the war there were a lot of them but after the first missile strikes and air strikes most of them went home. The Finnish soldier on the other hand has the assumption that the enemy has air superiority and is trained accordingly.
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Q: It is admirable that you are willing to risk your life and mental well-being for another country. But the flip side of the coin is interesting:
How did reality match preconceived notions of what modern warfare is?
What is the most horrific event you have encountered? How does your head hold up; do things come to you in dreams, is there any initial PTSD?
Would you leave again knowing what you know now?
A: Reality did not meet expectations at all, the films give a bit of a false picture of it. The first contact with the enemy is not a cinematic shootout where you see the enemy and get clear hits etc. But complete chaos for 5-60min, depending on how long it lasts where you might fire a couple of hundred rounds without even seeing the enemy clearly.
And the dreams haven't come yet but I've already noticed a little PSTD from the boys. Certain noises that sound too much like a falling missile or grenade always make me jump, whether it's just someone slamming the van door too hard or even closing the fireplace hatch too hard. I don't like sleeping inside four walls and I don't like sleeping without a rifle always at hand.
Q: How will you deal with your PTSD after the war?
A: With universal health care, of course? A joke a joke. But then, I hope there won't be a need, but if there is, I've already got the same contacts ready for me as the rest of the Finns here. No one is left to wrestle with that alone.
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Q: Is there honestly any hope of recapturing territory in the long term? Or is it more a case of defending to the end until Russia gets fed up?
A: There is every chance. Ukraine is getting stronger day by day while Russia is getting weaker.
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Q: They say don't come unless you have previous real combat experience. Is this true?
A: Yes. Changed to stricter criteria. Especially in the legion. But if you really want to get in, there's always some group that will take you. I wouldn't recommend it though.
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Q: I read somewhere that a Finnish reserve lieutenant had ended up as a rank and file soldier in Ukraine. What military ranks do foreign fighters serve under?
A: I know the gentleman well. Soldiers all, but of course the unofficial roles are different.
Q: So everyone serves with the military rank of a soldier, and the military rank of their own country is not taken into account or used?
A: Yes. Everyone is officially on the payroll as a soldier. But if you're a captain in your own army, you won't be serving long as a grunt.
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Q: How's the food and water situation?
A: Soldiers are always hungry, but no more so than in other armies. Peace or war. Pretty much the food side is the only one that's worked here without major problems.
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Q: Can volunteering give you Ukrainian citizenship if you wish?
A: Yes. After the war, it's pretty much automatically granted, except that you can't have dual citizenship in Ukraine so I'd have to give up my Finnish citizenship.
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Q: Why are you there? Do you feel you are also defending me as a Finn against the Russian threat, or are you there mainly to help Ukraine?
Do you hate Russia, Putin, or are you there mainly for adrenaline kicks?
A: Both. The main reason for coming here was the suffering of the Ukranians' loved ones here and the second main reason is that I'd rather fight here now than in Finland in a few years if Putin is not stopped now.
Adrenaline junkies were indeed the first to go home when something dropped near. You have to believe in something bigger to want to be here after that. You can get those kicks in much easier ways.
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Q: Does it matter what kind of training you have received in the FDF, whether Ukraine will take you in? There was a story in Finland about these people who tried to go, but were turned away. Do you know more about the selection process?
A: There was no selection process at the beginning and they didn't even look at my service record that I brought with me. It depended a lot on the impression you made on the local commander you first reported to. That is, by face value. Personally, I made a good impression by bringing lots of tourniquets and other first aid supplies which I then distributed to the local UKR unit that needed them.
Now I understand it is much tighter and some with combat experience have even been turned away for one reason or another.
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Q: What kind of military training do you have?
A: Guard Jaeger Regiment and a specialist in urban warfare.
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Q: Have you met other Finns there?
A: Even now, I am part of an independent unit made up entirely of Finns. Relative to the population, Finns are probably the most numerous volunteers here. And although it sounds like I'm wearing blue & white glasses, we are the most effective fighters of the foreign volunteers because of our uniform training and culture.
Q: Aren't there a pretty good number of Swedes there as well?
A: There have been a few of those too.
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Q: What is the level of medical supplies there? Is there enough CATs, Celox, hydration stuff, etc. available in sufficient quantities? Are there any big shortages that you should have?
A: You always need more CATs and Celox. The biggest shortages are those of first aid supplies.
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Q: Whose side are you fighting on?
A: Justice and democracy.
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Q: Is the rest of combat units handled systematically, i.e. is there a steady rotation in the front/reserve/rear?
A: There is roation, but I can't say more than that.
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Q: Your own assessment of whether Ukraine has enough firepower to keep the country out of Russia and whether it has enough muscle to retake the Donbass? What about the Crimean peninsula?
A: My own assessment? As long as the West continues to supply Ukraine with material, Russia has no chance of occupying it. Russia did not even take Kiev when the war broke out and the situation was at its worst. I don't want to speculate on anything else at this stage but I would be surprised if the Donbas were still under Russian control by the end of the year.
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Q: Have you seen any Estonians? How are they doing?
A: I have seen and the Estonian brothers have done credit to themselves and their country by their actions.
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Q: You seem to have modern AR-based rifles, how did you get them? From what I've been following James Vasquez on Twitter, he had an old AK-47 slapped on his hand, and has had to scrape together a bunch of gear for himself and his team anyway.
A: Right place, right time. Equipment varies greatly between the different units. Some get their rifles directly from the Yanks, some get old Soviet AKs. I've had both here in a short time.
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Q: How good a chance would you give Ukraine of winning the war, now that you have a perspective on the situation from the ground.
A: 100% as long as material assistance from abroad continues.
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Q: Do you have a NCO system in your Finnish outfit? And do you have protective equipment in case the Russians use gas?
A: Yes and yes.
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I've no idea what happened to him, last activity on his Reddit account was from 9 months ago. Though, I've seen him being mentioned by others every now and then in random posts indicating he has returned back to Finland.
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01-04-23, 09:43 AM
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