part 3/? after a copious amount of vodka, tikhon would awaken in nefrit again. he would start talking nonsense and arguing with his comrades. sometimes he and i would sit together in the kitchen until four in the morning. i would watch the stove, and he would tell me everything that was on his mind, singing songs: "my friend, artist and poet, on a rainy evening, on the window drew my love, revealing a miracle on earth" this particular song evoked deep feelings of longing and sadness in nefrit. he would play it every evening at the end of our drinking session and reminisce, reminisce, reminisce thats how we spent almost the entire second half of winter. defender of the fatherland day was approaching (god, how i hate this holiday now), followed by the anniversary of the start of the "special military operation." the approach of these holidays made us very anxious. about a week before them, lineika arrived and announced that there would soon be an assault near the city of m. the city of m was right on the front line. the city itself was controlled by the russian armed forces at that time, but there were fortified ukrainian positions in the surrounding area, for which fighting was constantly taking place. the guys there were shelled every day. the city became for us a byword for the hottest spot on the front (at least in our sector). and as soon as we heard the word "city of m" from the commanders, we immediately felt uneasy. so, lineika announced that our battalion would soon be assaulting the railway line near m. he told us the stories he had been fed by higher command. supposedly, we wouldnt be the first wave of the assault: "the assault troops will go first. well follow them, the second line! well have to secure and dig in at positions beyond the railway. well be supported by artillery and air cover." (translator's note:   tfaw29aw - here's the song nefrit was humming)
Finland