(Motherland Monument among green trees on embankment in Kyiv, Max Vakhtbovycn, n.d)

This article was written by an Austrian volunteer currently pursuing a master’s degree in English, History, and Political Education. After an initial visit to Ukraine in the summer of 2024, he returned a year later to conduct field research in Kyiv and Kharkiv as part of his academic studies. During his stay, he witnessed firsthand some of the most brutal and indiscriminate Russian air raids since the beginning of the war.

This piece was translated with Chatgpt

By Clemens Muehlbacher

Last night, around two in the morning, I was jolted awake in Kyiv by tremors. Countless car alarms, the rattle of anti-aircraft guns, and the dull thunder of explosions made it clear that this time, the Russian terror bombardment was once again aimed at the capital.

It’s hard to convey the sense of insecurity and helplessness during such an attack, and it’s probably pointless to try. Perhaps after years of war, one becomes deaf to the noise – but the awareness of death’s apparent randomness never fades. I, as an Austrian, have the option to hide in a secure hotel bunker, and in a few days, to return to safety behind the borders of NATO and the EU. But millions of young and old Ukrainians – civilians and soldiers alike – have only one form of security: the hope that chance will spare them.

As I learned over the course of the day, last night’s attack, with its mass of suicide drones, was the largest since the war began. Its goal is the same as thousands of times before: to wear down the population and overwhelm Ukraine’s limited air defense capabilities. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Russia – with support from North Korea, Iran, and China – overcomes the defenders’ resilience. Ukrainians must rely on their ingenuity, the madness of their enemies, and hesitant allies.

Under these circumstances, one becomes painfully aware of their own privileges as an Austrian and feels a shameful urge to look away – because deep down, we know we could and should be doing more. I believe almost all of Austria knows this. Our neutrality and constant insistence on a ‘peaceful solution’ ultimately benefit only the aggressor. There is no peaceful solution as long as Putin disregards human life and his troops hold the advantage.

That’s not to say our humanitarian and financial support for Ukraine is meaningless – but what Ukraine needs are weapons and ammunition. It needs allies who accept reality and who are not too proud to distinguish between good and evil.

Of course, in the West we’ve long questioned and discarded those terms. But in no war since 1945 has it been so clear which side we must be on. In no war since 1945 has the threat been so great that humanity, justice, and democracy might be defeated on a global scale. Since 1989, no one has forced us Austrians to look away anymore.

As I sit here this sunny afternoon on the sandy banks of the Dnipro, thinking back to last night’s bombardment, the memory almost feels like a bad dream. But everyone in this country knows that with sunset, the nightmare will resume. With the darkness will come more drones, more noise, more dead. It will not stop until Putin is dead, Ukraine gives up, or Europeans finally wake up. 

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[IMAGE]: Motherland Monument among green trees on embankment in Kyiv, Max Vakhtbovycn, n.d, retrieved from: https://www.pexels.com/photo/motherland-monument-among-green-trees-on-embankment-in-kiev-6143369/