34-year-old former soldier Jesse from Darp went to Ukraine to fight against the Russians. The Drent moved that way shortly after the Russian invasion. Jesse was killed in a trench in the Donbas in May last year.
Jesse’s story is central to a documentary by BNNVARAwhich can be seen from today: Jesse’s Struggle.
Ukrainians have been fighting for their freedom ever since the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out in 2022. They receive help from veterans and idealists from all over the world. So is the Jesse. “I would have difficulty if I just stayed in the Netherlands,” the soldier from Darp said in a voice message in March 2022, just after the Russian invasion. A month later he leaves for the front.
It is unclear how many Dutch people leave for the Ukrainian front and how many of them return. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it does not keep figures. These volunteer forces did not have a face for a long time, until now.
This year, Jesse’s girlfriend Maaike followed the trail of the Drenthe soldier with documentary maker Sinan Can. “The moment the war broke out in Ukraine, Jesse thought: ‘These are all innocent people, they did not choose this. We are already in the middle of it, this is our war too,'” says Maaike.
Through voice messages, photos and a sketchbook with notes, she and Can found coordinates leading to Chasiv Yar, the place where Jesse was killed. In retrospect, we get a new view of the Russian-Ukrainian war, through the eyes of the man from Darp.
“It felt like he was saying an extra goodbye,” Maaike remembers the text Jesse sent before he went on a mission. It would be his last. A few days later she sent another worried message: I’m thinking of you. But that message always remained on one check mark.
Life as a soldier was in the cards for Jesse from an early age. Not far from his parental home, there is still an old watchtower, which was part of the American army base Havelterberg. “That army was such a part of life,” mother Henny says about her son, who joined the defense force after completing his secondary education.
In the documentary, Jesse is mainly remembered for his help and concern for others. For example, he helped his buddy Solo – an Australian volunteer who also fought at the front – to safety, while the Drent still had the shrapnel in his leg. Solo: “He saved my life then.”
Jesse received no help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although Jesse served the Dutch army on missions in Afghanistan and Mali, our country offered no help to repatriate him, according to relatives.
“I was very angry about that,” says friend Maaike. “There are a lot of volunteers going there with a super great moral compass and ideals, and they will die to protect your democracy and freedom.”
And that is how the soldier from Darp is remembered, says his brother Marlon. “In my eyes, Jesse was a soldier par excellence, even before he was in the army. Jesse fought, he struggled, and this is how he could make a difference.”
Jesse’s Struggle can be seen on NPO Start, and on December 15 at 8:30 PM on NPO2.