As a mechanic he repaired ships, he ran B&Bs and was a security guard. Now he walks around in the Donetsk fire zone in a uniform that shows the Dutch tricolor in addition to the Ukrainian flag.
In his hands is a Bren assault rifle, brand new out of the box. Hendrik from Brabant fights in the Donbas with the Ukrainian army. Never before has a Dutch combatant reported in such detail from the front.
“It’s intense!” he says. “We have four injured. But slightly wounded… mortar fragments. One has been removed, the rest fight on. Last night our unit had a very rough time. But it will be fine. Go back on mission right away until sundown and then back.”
Front area near Bachmoet
Via WhatsApp, Hendrik from Brabant – not his real name – maintains direct contact from the front area near Bachmoet. “The drone team is now looking for targets so that we will fire on command later,” he writes.
“We’re going to fire some then in hard cover in a bunker next to this house to see if there’s any counterfire. Then we’re going to shoot a few more and then go back into the bunker and explore a bit. Then it’s gone.”
Camaraderie
He knows how to handle weapons: in addition to being a ship’s mechanic and manager of bed and breakfasts, Hendrik was a security guard in the air force in a previous life. He waved off in 2008 when his marriage came under strain. Still, it gnawed away: civil society lacked camaraderie. He now finds that in his group, a hotchpotch of Norwegians, Swedes, Canadians led by a stern Briton.
“You have to be careful not to commit yourself too much emotionally,” says Hendrik over the phone from his rental flat in a city in front of the front. “Someone can’t be here tomorrow.”
“I once drank coffee with a group that went into Bachmoet. Half is off, that doesn’t leave you unmoved. I’ve seen guys in a panic who don’t know what to do anymore. And seen a lot of bodies. You see people leave alive and come back dead. Those are serious things.”
Two bombs followed and four men were hospitalized
It is not his first trip to Ukraine. The Telegraph previously reported about the unfortunate trip of four Dutchmen to the battle zone. After a long car ride and much arguing, the foursome decided to turn around after 45 minutes in the Ukrainian army camp. The mother of one of the four had fallen ill and the four had agreed: out together, home together. During the 2100 kilometer long journey back the atmosphere was to cut.
The second time, Hendrik went alone and ended up with the foreign legion. It turned out to be so poorly organized and trained that he gave up again. Now he is back in Ukraine for the third time.
Text on grenade: ‘Ticket to hell’
Two months ago he joined a mortar group. In a team of twelve men, they are sent out to hit targets in the front zone. They are fairly paid and can earn creative extra money: for 25 dollars you can have a text put on a grenade. Like “Fuck Putin” or “Here’s your ticket to hell.”
Launching mortar shells deals a heavy blow. Hendrik felt sick despite earplugs and hearing protectors. “Really not normal, you wonder how that launch pipe can stay intact.”
This is not the only reason why the mortar group pleases him moderately. “I feel like a fucking boy scout,” he told his commander. Because he has only been able to run three missions. The group is called up much more often, but nine times out of ten it is canceled because plans change. “No, you don’t have to be autistic here.”
Russian drones
The second problem is tactics. To Hendrik’s surprise, the mortar group had to fire from fixed positions. That is dangerous, because Russian drones continuously scan the terrain. Within an hour, Hendrik’s mortar group saw two drones hovering above him and it was a guess whether they were Ukrainian or Russian.
“Then you are one sitting duck . I said something about that, but my commander has thirty years of experience in the British army and his will is law. The Dutch are used to arriving at the best plan through discussion. Listen, I said, I’m not your sheep. If I think something is dangerous, I don’t do it.”
Shards in intestines
Transverseness was not appreciated. But colleagues from another mortar team ran into the same thing, says Hendrik. A Russian drone found their static launch site. “There were two bombs and then four people were in the hospital.”
“One had such a bad concussion that he started foaming at the mouth. They had to open another from hip to hip to remove the shards from his intestines. That impact was thirty meters from our position. Because an entire group was eliminated, we could also go back. So I captioned it anyway: can you see I’m not as stupid as I look?”
There are also successes. Last week, another group knocked out a moving Russian T-72 tank with mortar fire. “We were complimented on that. The boy who did that, he has an amount of experience that scares you, but you also have to be lucky. In any case, it looks nice on the team’s CV.”
We’ve been getting a lot on our fag the last few days.
By now he’s used to the constant rumble of impacts, miles away or fearfully closer. On impact at about thirty meters he felt the pressure wave on his shrapnel vest. According to Hendrik, there is still little sign of a shortage of grenades among the Russians, on the contrary.
“We have been getting a lot on our feet in the last few days. Recently they knocked down a school building, knocked out windows and facade, that was pretty close. They threw an Iskander missile at our headquarters, but it didn’t explode. Still, seven were injured and one died last week. I was quite nervous about how I would react to all this. It is a journey of discovery into what I can handle.”
He tries to stay alert. Many Ukrainian soldiers walk around in Kramatorsk without vests and helmets, Hendrik sees, but do carry a large gun as visibly as possible. “I sometimes get laughed at if I wear a helmet and vest as soon as I go out the door, but then I think: you will soon be in the hospital, not me. My gun even goes to the bathroom with me. I sleep with it.”
Woman jumped from balcony
The atmosphere in Kramatorsk is to cut, the population is clearly on the gum. After a night mission, Hendrik stood guard at the car that still contained weapons. He heard a woman screaming from an apartment building. She climbed over the balcony railing and jumped down. The ambulance arrived, but the woman died instantly and lay there for hours before she was taken away.
Some soldiers are no longer able to cope. “A boy from the Foreign Legion who shot himself in the head with his pistol… Those boys have seen too much.”
Girlfriend and child at home
At home he has a girlfriend and a young child. Two weeks ago he received an alarming phone call: the child could not be woken up one morning. In the hospital it turned out to have a severe fever. At that moment, Hendrik is ready to drop everything and drive back to the Netherlands with screeching tires. “But the doctor said it was fine.”
There are not many compatriots in the war zone. Hendrik met a Dutch sniper who has been walking around in Ukraine for over a year and has built up a formidable reputation. He also heard a story about a Dutchman who went completely crazy and loudly announced that he was going to cut Russians’ throats. The Ukrainians immediately deported the man and put him across the border.
‘I like it here’
“Despite a few bad days, I’m having a good time here. And I’ve now switched to another team, because I’m not really a mortar man. We also had so many misses. I’d rather close combat. We now really get to see the Russians up close. There are really good guys around here from whom I can learn a lot, you can just pull their jacket and ask: teach me how to build a building. sweep or shall we train at the shooting range?”
Hendrik reports via WhatsApp after another day in the front area. “Be safe on your way back. Have a good day. Aim straight into the Russian trenches… so guess a few are feeling less well today. It wasn’t very intense. There was a lot of firing back and forth, but nothing came down near us.”