"disposable soldier" chapter 3. formation of the new battalion. village of yu. non-recognized republics (donbabwe in pidorashka parlance, translator's note). spring of '23. the original can be found here:   e16c9ca9a21c77a2960065ab-applicatio npdf.pdf part 1/? that day, i had once again gone awol to the neighbouring town. i left at half-past five in the morning through the checkpoint, got to town, and waited for the shops to open. i had plans to buy a few things, relax at a hotel, maybe go to a hookah bar... but my plans were not destined to come true. at eight in the morning, ofis called and announced that we were leaving training ground g in an hour. "but how am i supposed to get back in an hour?" "listen, i don't give a fuck how you're gonna get back. make a choice: either you get back quickly and leave with us, or you don't come back and you're declared soch (awol)." "i got you." all i managed to do in town was buy cigarettes and withdraw some cash. i hastily called a taxi back to the training ground and headed off to meet the new deployment. i was late, of course. but the army is the most disorganized organization, so no one noticed my tardiness. i had enough time to gather my duffel bags, load them into the truck with the others, and rejoin my unit. we left only a couple of hours later and spent the whole day on the road. there were stops at shops, and we stocked up on food and alcohol for the long journey. i had headphones, and for almost the entire trip, i sat by the side of the ural truck, listening to music and admiring the scenery. though we were going back to war, the mood was upbeat. in the evening, we crossed the border and entered the territory of the unrecognized republic. and late at night, we arrived at a village school in the village of yu. there, we somehow settled in and piled our belongings into one giant heap.
Finland