"I knew that there would be a full-scale war for two reasons." How a school village teacher started to defend our history at the front

"Rubryka" continues the cycle "Faces of Ukraine's Defense", which captures the stories of those who fight for Ukraine's independence – those who took up arms and those who face the enemy with bare hands, those who heal, those who evacuate and those who defend Ukraine in their own way.

"I was woken up by a neighbor who knows very well what the sounds of explosions are…"

"I was in the village where I live, Sekretarivka, Odesa region, 30 kilometers from Transnistria. It was about six in the morning, I do not remember exactly… I was woken up by a neighbor who knows very well what the sounds of explosions are, he is an internally displaced person from the Luhansk region.

We went outside together and heard something far away. It seemed that military units nearby started bombing from Transnistria at that time. In fact, I had a very interesting day then… "

Vladyslav Danylchenko is currently serving in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The guy is not on the front line, but we still can't talk about his whereabouts. I asked him all my questions over the phone. And he answers – Vlad is from Vinnytsia, he is 24 and he teaches history at a school in a village near Odesa, where he was later caught by the war.

"That Thursday I had to go to the military registration and enlistment office to sign a contract with the Odessa Territorial Defense. I knew that there would be a full-scale war for two reasons. First, I am a historian, so it was easy for me to predict. Second, Putin has recognized ORDLO (temporarily occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions).

I called the Defense Forces, agreed to come to them on Thursday, and on Thursday morning it all started. Honestly, I didn't know what to do. At the same time, fakes began to appear that Odesa had already been captured by Russian paratroopers. Where to go? How to act? And I live in a village from which it is very difficult to get out. We do not have transport, you have to go through the fields…

And then I called the Vinnytsia military registration and enlistment office, they told me to come to them. Well, my neighbor and I went through the fields", says Vlad, whose tone makes you smile.

"And I was a sort of "vatnik"

Googling Vlad's name means eventually finding BUR ("Building Ukraine Together") – a volunteer movement that organizes camps in which volunteers since 2014 rebuild what was torn by the war and build new things. New playgrounds, new homes, and a new society. BUR supports social business, creates youth spaces, and is engaged in education.

Vlad was and still is a part of it. He says that he first volunteered at the Ostroh Academy and TEDx in Vinnytsia. And later he got acquainted with BUR and since then he volunteered only there until it turned into a job.

"It was in August 2018. It all started with "Dyvo Kayak", a social enterprise run by the Didul family (the family that started BUR). I first got there, met their family there, and I was a sort of "vatnik" (a slang name for a person with pro-russian views)… We started arguing and they invited me to go to the BUR camp in the Luhansk region and see for myself what is happening there.

Then I went to the beautiful city of Novopskov, Luhansk region, which, by the way, is now occupied. And I saw with my own eyes what BUR is doing, what is being done there, and then I became fascinated with BUR, I became fascinated with the families in which I worked. I still keep in touch with many of them", Vlad shared.

Since then, he began volunteering at the camps regularly, until he became one of the program managers. Vlad worked at BUR for six months, and then he was called into the army. He says that if it weren't for the army, he might still be working there, but during his service, he found his own way to influence. In his opinion, this way is even a little selfish.

"I thought to myself: someday I will grow old and go to work at school"

… After these words, Vlad starts laughing. At the age of 24, he had already acquired the status of a teacher. And now his greatest pain during the war is a bad connection, which is why he was able to conduct only two online lessons for his students in a month.

"I was on conscription. And in fact, I dream that it will be eliminated in Ukraine. I took a lot of useful things from there. At least, it was on conscription that I decided to be a teacher and specifically in a rural school.

I served in the guard company. My job was to guard the weapons depots. It is forbidden to communicate with someone on guard and many, many other things are forbidden. At night you can look at the stars, think of something. And since there are a lot of problems in the army, I thought about the one that worries me the most. And the most I can do.

And then I caught myself thinking that the guys I serve with, especially the guys from the village, are behaving unacceptably to me just because they didn't have a quality education. As a rule, most of them. I thought that's how I could influence Ukraine – to teach. Although I think, the much more selfish thing here is the desire to influence the people around me through education", says Vlad.

In August 2021, he started teaching, and in February 2022 he returned to the Armed Forces. A little more than a year has passed since the end of his term.

I ask what he will do when he returns home after the victory. Vlad thinks a little, and then says :

"First – I will definitely go to my school and meet my students. Second – I will order herbal teas from "Moim. Ridnym". It's the best thing there is! And third, I'm probably thinking of getting married."

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