The whole world is now looking at our defenders with open mouths - volunteer Oksana Klim

Oksana Klim became a guest of the program "Volunteers and War" of the Espreso.West journalist.

Oksana, tell us about your last trip. You were in the south of the country. What picture did you see there? How are our guys?

This is one of the trips that became regular after February 24th. We travel to provide moral support to our defenders and to deliver what is needed. Despite the fact that the war has been going on for the ninth year, few people were ready for everything that happened on February 24 and further. If the army and officers certainly understood that they were dealing with a horde, then the population of Ukraine was accustomed to military operations in eastern Ukraine. Moreover, we morally dissociated ourselves from what was happening. And, to be honest, the authorities also played their games. What happened has happened, and now we must cope with it as best we can. I cannot say that everything fell on the shoulders of ordinary people and volunteers. Still, the state has very clearly defined its strategic goals and is doing everything it can. Thanks to the world itself, it sometimes seems to me that if it were not for the position of the world and not for the huge support of Ukraine, then events could have turned in a completely different way.

Tell me about the road to the war zone. How long does it take, how difficult is it to get there? In addition, we hear daily about the preparations for a full-scale offensive, and in the east they say that it has already begun. How difficult can it be for work?

What we read in news agencies is one thing, but live it's a little different. Despite the war, life goes on. I was struck by simple southerners. They tore my heart to shreds in a positive way. We sometimes drove at night, there was a curfew, and tractors were working in the fields. These people are incredible.

What struck me the most was probably the first trip during a full-scale war. We drove and were convinced that the guys, as always, can only rely on themselves and logistics. But I saw something completely different. We arrived at the point where reservists and mobilized are being gathered. This is a very large number of people. Near those gathering points there were huge hangers where local farmers store grain, sunflower seeds, and tables between them. I would compare it to a wedding tent. The guys had a hot meal there. Local farmers brought food, and their wives cooked. Now every speck of dust is fighting in unison with our defenders. The support of this land, its inhabitants are simply incredible. But the situation that exists there now cannot be compared with 2014-2015, when it was very difficult in the East. Right now it's incredibly hard. The guys themselves are talking about this, they say that shelling with Hail is nothing.

Every day we hear about the heroic defense of the South, about the destroyed equipment, about the invaders. How is this defense given to them? After all, your son is fighting there, what does he say?

The first message that my son sent me after February 24 was: "Mom, I have been dreaming about this since 2014 - to smoke and drive the invader out of our land". Ukrainian guys, you see, the whole world is now looking at our defenders with open mouths. Yes, they may not be dressed like the warriors of the Alliance, they lack the basic means for a more or less comfortable fight. I even got out of the car on this broadcast, because I had the opportunity now to buy several sets of uniforms for the guys. They lack material support: thermal imagers, special drones, night vision devices, but they still fight so well. We have the power that the armies of the world can dream of. But to be honest, I am not happy with the daily information about the losses of the invader, that now more than 20 thousand orcs have forever remained on our land. Neither 20, nor 200 thousand, nor a million are worth the little finger of one of our warriors. Ukrainian warriors, Ukrainian defenders are today the archangels who hold the sky for us in the truest sense of the word. These are extraordinary guys who perform heroic deeds daily without trying to be heroes. They do their work, although it is not really work, but service. They protect their land, their parents, wives and children.

I was struck by the South in this full-scale war. And not only, as you said, that they began to carry out the sowing campaign as soon as there was a call from the authorities, but the way they walked with Ukrainian flags under the bullets. And they shouted that we are Ukrainian and we are on our own land. This factor probably also influenced, what do you think?

I agree. This support of the Ukrainian people for Ukrainian defenders is decisive. We may not have the means to comfortably fight, but the most important thing for us is support, we know what we are fighting for, and I am speaking on behalf of our defenders. What is there to talk about here, remember 2014 in the East of Ukraine. How many cases there were when they shouted right at the back of the guys, they say, why did you come here, Bandera, we want to live as we live, that's enough of us! Now, fortunately, it's a completely different war, military circumstances.

Invaders know what to pay attention to first of all. They are trying, first of all, to turn off the Ukrainian channels, to impose their ideology. I wanted to ask you about the role of the media. How important is the word of journalists in the occupied territories?

This is an axiom. The role of the media is enormous. Look sometimes at the polls on the streets of Moskoviya. This is something a normal healthy person cannot understand. Often people are asked: where do you get your information from? Everything is from television. They are too lazy to analyze information. Therefore, the role of journalists, the media in this war of propaganda is enormous. Take occupied Kherson, where all Ukrainian channels are jammed. We must by all means give objective information to those parts of Ukraine that are currently occupied. Because this is the nature of our psyche - we involuntarily begin to believe in what we are endlessly told about.

"Volunteers and War" is a new project that airs weekly on Tuesday at 13:15 on the YouTube channel and on the social networks of the Espreso TV channel. We talk about people who for the ninth year have not gotten tired of helping the army and providing it with everything necessary. Weekly - interesting people with extraordinary stories.