The bubble breaks. Fruustration is bursting with the Russians. “I felt as much as possible fool”

I am convinced that all these conversations about possible truce only harm the work of volunteers. People get the impression that help is no longer needed, that everything will end soon. They think: “Well, soon there will be a truce, everything will work out. So why do something to continue?”

In fact, however, we do not feel that there will be a truce in the near future. On the contrary – in border regions people are convinced that the war will be prolonged.

Either way, the donations are still decreasing. Earlier, people gave donations in the amount of 500 to 1000 rubles (from 22.8 to 45.6 PLN). Thanks to the large number of donors, especially in the first year of war, it brought measurable effects – we even had a small reserve, a kind of financial pillow. But now, when I send appeals – to government agencies and private companies – I don't receive any answer. Absolutely none. And every day I broke dozens of letters.

Local companies say: “We apologize, but we have already distributed everything, we barely make ends meet.” And in other regions it is as if we lived in different worlds – their inhabitants do not care about the war.

Parcels gathered by volunteers for the Russian armyWalentyna Matrenina / The Insider

In addition, there is a general narrative sleeping vigilance. Because of her, even here, under constant drone attacks and fire, people feel that everything is fine. There is no information, nothing happens, everything is calm. The authorities say: “Everything goes as planned, everything is fine, there is no reason to panic.” The reality is covered.

The fact that Putin rejects a truce, his negotiations with Trump – all this seems to belong to another – not our – world. We live here with our own problems. Let's say that an older woman lives in the border village – she doesn't care about Trump or Putin. He doesn't know them and will never see them. She is worried that every day drones fly over her head, that they fall on her yard.

Every day it's like Squid Game: Who will be next? You just sit and think when your turn will come.

Now only one signature is needed – Putin. It is enough that he says: “well, we end the war.” He has already been swarmed to stop in the positions we occupy. But he doesn't. What do people think about it? Opinions are different. Some say that if we just stop, the death of so many people on the front will make no sense. But soldiers are still dying – and Moscow's goals [w tej wojnie] They are still changing.

In any case, you will finally have to reach an agreement. Some say, “We have to go to the end.” But what does “to the end” mean? The most terrible thing is that it can continue forever. As in the case of Israel and Palestine – for decades.

“Soldiers, to whom I sent almost 100,000 rubles (PLN 4,562), on the same day they spent everything on prostitutes”

Ruslan, the Bryan region, provided uniforms for soldiers

This year I finally gave up volunteering. I don't want to deal with it anymore. I've had enough. One situation poured a bit of bitterness.

I helped soldiers honestly, from the bottom of my heart. I am a businessman. I run a small local store – with metal items and small goods. I bought QuadCoptery and other equipment for soldiers. I donated the money for the needs of the army – for night visions, uniforms, whatever they asked. I had direct contact with soldiers. They wrote to me on WhatsApp, asking: “Send money to it”, “Give it there”, “We really need it.”

And suddenly it turned out that the soldiers, to whom I sent almost 100,000 Rubble (PLN 4,562), on the same day they spent everything on prostitutes. I called one of them, trying to express my indignation. And he replied: “We protect people like you. We risk life. We pour blood for you. What else do you want?” Basically, I was supposed to close myself and be grateful. I felt as much as possible fool, from which the money was drawn.

Disappointment is huge – and I don't feel it. Earlier people really tried to support the army, especially at the beginning. Many did it honestly, with patriotism. Now more and more people have no motivation to help the army. To be honest, here, in border regions, people are simply tired of soldiers. What's more, they began to perceive them not as defenders, but as a threat.

For example, in Szebiekin, nobody wants to rent their apartments anymore. In car washes, in parking lots, near shops – people ask them not to park military vehicles there, for fear of a drone attack.

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Military equipment – air defense systems, various launchers – is set in trees next to residential areas. People understand that if Himars hits this place, everything around will be destroyed. It's terrifying. Nobody wants to live near military facilities.

There are also accidents involving the army – there were many cases in which tanks crushed civil cars. Does anyone monitor it and examine it? I don't know. As soon as an incident occurs with the participation of the army, it is immediately covered. It is impossible to find out what is really going on. So I can't say if the soldiers are responsible. Personally, I have never heard that someone was punished for that. In February 2022, people said “everything will end in a week”. Now the same parents tell their children: “If you see our soldiers, go to the other side of the street.”

I can recall one story. My godmother and her neighbor from the Daczy cooperative in the Belgorodz region came across soldiers plundering summer houses. An attempt to confront them would be suicide, so they just escaped. The soldiers ran after them. They caught up with them and asked, “Why are you running?” The neighbor managed to unscrew. “We thought you were Ukrainian sabotagers,” she said.

One thing I can say with certainty – if it wasn't for this war, none of these problems would be. Neither in our region nor in others.

“We thought it would end quickly”

Elena from the Kursk region, collects donations for the army

People try not to pay attention to the war because they are tired of it. Or they got used to her. They want a normal life. As for me, I feel that the war almost no longer exists. It is not as loud as it used to be. Drones fly over my heads, but I try not to pay attention to it. I do not tremble every time I have to decide whether to go outside. Syrena howls, but the heart is not beating faster.

I help soldiers from the very beginning, from February 24, 2022. However, I almost gave up this activity. The donations are very scanty, people are fed up with. It is much easier to go further when you see the end of the road, it is harder when you do not know how far it is pulling. The same applies to volunteering. At the beginning we thought that everything would end quickly, so people were more likely to convey donations. But now you can't see, and you are still asking for more. Few are willing to help.

Even the soldiers themselves stopped asking for support so often – perhaps because I refuse to most of them more and more often. Now they spend their own money on their daily needs, which they receive from the Ministry of Defense.

Russian soldiers receiving packages with help from volunteersWalentyna Matrenina / The Insider

The largest amount I received from one person is 10,000. rubles (PLN 456). But it happens once every six months. There is another person who sends about 4,000 rubles (PLN 182) once a month. Other donations amount to an average of 300-500 rubles (PLN 13.7-22.8). Earlier, I could easily collect 100,000 in one day. rubles (PLN 4,562). It was at the beginning of the war in 2022–2023. I calmly accepted “orders” from the army, went to the store, not having the money collected yet, and I could even take goods on credit. I said I would pay them back the same evening and I did so.

Now the biggest purchase I can afford is the generator for 14 thousand. rubles (PLN 638.7). I even buy this in installments, in my name, and then gradually pay it off. There is a request for another generator, which costs 35 thousand. (PLN 1597), but I have no advance on it. Even when I manage to collect it, if people do not still send money, I will have to pay 6,000 rubles (PLN 274) per month out of my own pocket. This is not the best option either.

The volunteer movement has shrunk significantly. If I have seen posts in my feed in social media on this subject before, then there is nothing. There is probably no one of these people anymore. It seems that the volunteer movement has burned out. At some point, intrigues, denunciations and competition were desired. Everyone wanted to gain the favor of the authorities, show how good they are.

Yes, for such activities, recognition, respect and other benefits are gained, it happens from the machine. However, this caused a split among volunteers. It seems that this is human nature – sooner or later everyone tries to get as much as they can. And now, when all this activity is declining, there is no one who could take part in this “competition”.

“It got quieter – interest in help fell sharply”

Lera from the Belgorod region, collects parcels for soldiers

In Belgorod, drone attacks are not so frequent. Alarm sirens are constantly joining, but mainly because of the drones. “I went out to light a cigarette at night and then saw a drone that turned at the corner of the house, and then hit,” my son -in -law told me recently. It was in the very center of the city. But people try to pretend that nothing is happening. They live as if the war is over – or it was to end any time.

I hardly collect funds for the army anymore. Since it got calmer here, interest in help for the army has fallen rapidly, despite the fact that soldiers are still asking for help. They are exhausted themselves. We civilians can still pretend that the war is over – but they can't. That's why they drink. Drinking in the army is a real scourge.

I used to provide help on the border – in a place where before the war there was a checkpoint with Ukraine. Volunteers usually stop there because they are not allowed to go further. What I saw there truly terrified me.

Crates with products for Russian soldiersWalentyna Matrenina / The Insider

The whole area was collapsed with empty bottles – after beer, moonshine, vodka. The stench like at the entrance to a giant barrel of beer. A soldier stood at the control point.

– What's going on here? I asked.

– They bring it! Wives bring this to husbands and mothers to sons. When men return from vacation, they take alcohol with them – he said. – This is not a pile from a few days, these have been emptied in just one. We don't know what to do about it, “he said.

It was terrifying. The soldiers themselves admit that mobilized and volunteers drink the most. As part of the sentence, commanders throw them down for a few days. But they get alcohol and everything else anyway. Nobody knows how to deal with it. On the one hand, it is clear that they simply can no longer endure it. On the other hand, it destroys them. They suffocate in their trenches, burn alive. Many different things happen. A drunk man feels undefeated – he goes outside and is shot. He exposes himself and others on the front. And when they return to the rear, they completely relax.

The war does not leave anyone intact – it's obvious. I remember how it was after the Chechen wars and how many broken people were after Afghanistan. I used to drive a car with a security officer who told me directly. – I experienced many wars, but the one in Ukraine is the worst.

Some say Putin will fry in hell for making this decision.