Peter from Oss (46) can’t stand it any longer. The suffering in Ukraine, the region where his girlfriend comes from, grips him. Setting up a relief effort does not go far enough for him. He will get into a van on Wednesday to fight with the Foreign Legion.
“I saw all that misery on TV, it is on here all day,” Peter tells Omroep Brabant. “It immediately didn’t feel good to sit here on the couch. And then came that call from Ukrainian president Zelensky.”
He called on Europeans to come and help his country in the fight against the Russians. After that, dozens of Dutch people reported to the Ukrainian embassy in The Hague. Peter is one of them.
He shows pictures of his email exchange with the embassy and with someone who arranges transport to Ukraine on behalf of the embassy. “You had to fill in a form with your experience. I was in the military service (conscription) and I regularly go to America for work. There I visit the shooting range, I have shot with all kinds of weapons,” he says.
According to the embassy, he was suitable, so he joined a Telegram group with other candidates. “I was immediately asked when I could come. Army clothes and weapons are not necessary. I will get that stuff there. I had to arrange some business here, so I’m going on Wednesday. Some family members think I’m crazy. “You’re out of your mind “, they say. My son (18) reacted laconically. “I’ll take care of the house,” he said.
Peter sounds intelligent, also knows that war is not a game and that he might get hurt or die. He refers to the Dutch resistance in World War II. “Someone has to do it. Until a few days ago, you also had a choice. When you arrived in Ukraine, you had to sign a contract. No training and thirty days with the support troops or three days training and real fighting. That choice is no longer.”
He chose to fight anyway. “That’s why I go there. It’s not normal how the Russians rage there. I understand that there are all kinds of fundraising campaigns in the Netherlands and that’s good, but I want to do more.”
Peter is not the real name of the interviewee. The name has been changed for security and privacy reasons. The real name is known to the editors.