REFLECTION
I didn’t expect the weapons and ammunition in Professor Amos’s article to be so old. Anton, one of the volunteers she interviewed, said the “dates of production stamped on the barrels of the machine gun [ … ] are older than my grandma.” These guns are being pointed at Russian drones guided by modern computers. The volunteers watch the drone come in on a small tablet and then try to hit it with a gun from 1930. I guess one side is failing to learn from the past. The people firing them surprised me like Andrian, a judge who does twelve hour shifts next to the Dinpro River in a unit of nearly all judges. i.e. the Supreme Court and from the Constitutional Court. This is interesting though since Judges technically can’t be mobilized because Ukraine needs the courts to keep functioning so as a solution the moonlight as air defense. Professor Amos thinks this isn’t unusual and mentions other units with professors, opera singers, and other professionals.
I figured the military handled all of this, since this is generally what happens in the united states, but there are thousands of these Ukrainian volunteer groups throughout the country. Ukraine is now thinking about paying civilians as much as $2,400+ a month to track and destroy drones. Prior to getting accepted to Princeton in 2025 but after my service eneded in the united states military, I traveled to Europe with the intention of joining the Ukrainian war as a civilian. I was in Amsterdam when I was notified of my acceptance to Princeton and obviously chose that option. In reality i was running from my own problems and this seemed like a viable option for self-pity and adventure. I am curious how many of the ex-pat civilians who volunteer are actually passionate about fighting or simply looking for self-aggrandisement.
Its been more than three years now since the war started and the government is basically putting these people on payroll. There’s an app that shows the threat level, hotels broadcast warnings, and sirens go off outside too. None of these cautionary measures tells you if the drone is actually headed for your building though. Reading that from Princeton I thought, obviously I’d go to the shelter but I’ve never had to decide that every night for three consecutive years, so I don’t really know what I would do if this were my daily life. I think the Ukrainian persistence to fight back with weapons from the past is a great example that fighting for survival is a timeless pursuit.
– Ellis Speagle
