More than 600 days of war behind us brings a lot of experience to a country. And not only about offensives, counteroffensives, drones and battle tanks: also about the morale of the troops and the population. The latter responds to the effort that the Ukrainian government is making to prevent more discouragement or sadness from creeping in among the millions of people. Christmas greeting messages that are exchanged between soldiers in Donbas and Zaporiya and their families in the country.
Since last fall, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has been broadcasting on television and social networks the summary of a guide to speak with a soldier assigned to a war front. The abbreviated version consists of five simple indications that, rather than psychological manuals from which they undoubtedly arise, correspond to common sense. The objective is not to worry the soldier, not to make him sad and, above all, do not give information to the enemy Russian.
Ukrainian military authorities title it “Tips for Communicating with Someone Who is in the Military”and is applicable to all types of chats, conversations and messages on social networks, telephone services or remote conversations.
Do not give information
The first is more of an order than a suggestion, and is the one with the most military weight: “Do not ask for the exact location of the units“, nor by its composition or task.”
There is a terrible precedent for how expensive it is to reveal positions, and it is from this war. One of the worst disasters that Russian troops have suffered during this war, the bombing of a building converted into a barracks in Makivka, next to Donetsk, ctook the lives of 89 soldiers. It was on New Year’s Eve 2022. The missiles hit them squarely, guided after a prior location of their position by the Ukrainian artillery. The cause: everyone was using their cell phones to congratulate the new year to their families.
The rule of not revealing locations or missions is complemented with another piece of advice, this one with depth, halfway between maintaining secrecy and maintaining morale: “It is unnecessary to talk about the dwell time in a destination”.
When the war is prolonged, on any front of any color, the main issue of the conversations becomes the tiredness and the desire to be relieved. It is a very corrosive issue for morale.
Do not worry
Despite the weight of the first pieces of advice, which are more tactically charged, the third may be the most important from a psychological point of view: “Don’t deal with domestic problems that can’t be solved now.“, and in no case do you try to break up a relationship (lovely, that is) remotely.”
The instruction recalls an old unwritten rule of behavior among Spanish soldiers deployed abroad. It was the case that Legion Corporal María José García Perea recounted on April 23 in conversation with EL PERIÓDICO from Lebanon, where blue helmets often spend nights sheltered in underground bunkers while above rockets and cannon shots cross Israel and Hezbollah. She was on a mission abroad and her partner, also a soldier, called her from Spain. “She never talked to me about domestic problems, unless they were already solved,” the corporal said.
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The small Ukrainian manual of good practices for talking to a soldier, so important at Christmas, ends with two guidelines to lighten the talks, make them less important and heavy, and give them a touch of joy. “Talk to the soldier about everyday matters. Don’t hesitate to give him words of support”, says the fourth piece of advice. And the fifth dictates: “End the conversation on a positive note!”
To guide citizens in this field, and also to tackle cases of low morale, the Ukrainian defense forces have even enabled a hotline to family members.