Exclusive. “Dying is easy at the front”: our reporter follows training of Ukrainian deserters and veterans in the secret site

They escaped the army, but cannot escape the war now. In barely 45 days, Ukrainian deserters and wounded veterans are prepared for the hell of the front: it is fighting or dying. War journalist Arnaud De Decker went for HLN to a secret training ground in Donetsk and attended an intensive training session. “I had to return. Out of respect for my comrades. For those who are no longer there,” says Oleksander (48) in tears.

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