Comments by "PNH 6000" (@PNH-sf4jz) on "Letter to Congress from American Veteran in Ukraine" video.

  1. Vladislav's Story On the edge of Cherkasy, there is a cemetery with a long line of recent graves. They're for the men of all ages from the town who've died fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade. Ukraine honours the dead as heroes, but it's left to their families to grieve. Each grave is decorated with national flags and heaped with wreaths and flowers. There are images, fixed to crosses or etched into marble headstones, of the soldiers in military uniform. Photograph: A woman stands next to her son's grave in Cherkasy Image caption, "Inna's son was killed when a mine exploded" Inna can't bear to put her son's photo on his grave yet. The image that she used for his funeral is still at home. She's not ready to let go. Vladislav Bykanov was killed last June by a mine explosion near Bakhmut. He was about to turn 23 and already a deputy commander. "I believe my son died doing the right thing," Inna says firmly, as her daughter cries quietly beside her. "I'm a teacher and I always tell the children this: we are right, we are defending our country and our children. My son was defending us. He believed in this cause. And I believe," Inna says before pausing to take in the flags and faces all around. She hasn't visited the cemetery for a little while and the row of soldiers' graves has grown. "Do you think my son wasn't afraid? I was afraid too, when he went. Everyone's afraid of dying," she answers, when I wonder what she thinks of those who avoid signing up to fight. "But maybe being enslaved by Russia is more frightening? Now we see death. It's very difficult. Very difficult. But there is no way back. We can't give up." Additional reporting by Anastasiia Levchenko and Paul Pradier
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