Illustrated by Liubov Miau
In peacetime, 29-year-old Mykola Levchyk from Volyn prepares for marathons and trains children and adults. But since February 24, he has been preparing for armed combat and defense of Kyiv, where he has lived since 2010.
Like many Ukrainians, on February 24, the day of the Russian attack, Mykola did not immediately understand what was happening.
“On the first day of the war,” he says, laughing, “by inertia, I even thought about taking a laptop and working on my training plans.”
The plans for a peaceful life had to be postponed: that same day the man joined the Territorial Defense. Several factors contributed to his decision. First of all, Mykola was motivated by his colleague, a man from Donetsk who has been awarded the title of an Honorary Coach of Ukraine. “My coach is a great man. If he has joined the Defense, I can’t go anywhere either.” Second, Mykola dreams that his little students will live in an independent country “where they have a great life.” And that “great” must be fought for.
Since then, Mykola’s days have been subject to a strict military schedule; the shifts last for two days and are divided into cycles: the defenders are on duty for three hours and then they rest for three hours as well. When the two days are over, they start training, which is especially necessary for people like Mykola: before the war, he had no military experience, but on his first day in the Territorial Defense he received a machine gun. “Three days later we were given uniforms, and we found helmets and knee pads on our own to make it more comfortable and safer for us to fight.”
Before the war, Mykola and his little students had started a challenge: for a month they had to perform six exercises per day. Those who followed the regimen would receive a gift: cool sports socks or sneakers. And even now, during the war, some students still train and record videos of completed tasks. “I call them and say: ‘Whenever you get a chance, train! Because everything will end, and we will need to move on.” Mykola is awaiting a meeting with “his” children after the victory: “I want to hug and kiss them. I always hug them anyway, but now I also want to kiss them. I want to meet everyone. And also… to finally finish the challenge.”
