Japanese Volunteer Soldiers Fighting on the “Front Line of the War in Ukraine” Fighting Next to Decomposing Bodies

Sleeping Next to Decomposing Bodies

Although he had no military experience, Mr. Suzuki experienced horrific trench warfare last year as a soldier in another territorial defense unit in Ijumu, in the eastern part of the country. He said that they ran out of food and water, so he drank water from the river filtered through a T-shirt.

He is currently an artilleryman with the 204th Independent Territorial Defense Battalion, in charge of AGS-17s (automatic grenade launchers), and was sent with Hal (a pseudonym) to help defend a position that had just been recaptured from the Russian army due to a lack of manpower. Mr. Hal is also a Japanese volunteer soldier with the unique background of being a former gang member. Because of the danger of the mission and the number of casualties, it is called a “suicide mission” in the unit and is shunned by the soldiers.

“We would leave at dawn and go by armored car and on foot to a front-line trench called a position. We had to fight, eat, and sleep next to the decomposing bodies, and the smell was so strong. The trench had been used by the Russians until recently and the coordinates were known. So the Russians rained down shells and used cluster bombs, and the attacks continued through the night,” said Suzuki.

He left the position after safely completing his two-day mission. Mr. Suzuki said he would like to participate in the same mission again if requested.

A year and a half has passed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. There is still no way out.

Toru YOKOTA / Born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1971. Started working as a freelance news photographer after the Cambodian Civil War in 1997. He has covered the Kosovo conflict, Afghanistan, and other conflicts. Author of “Senjo Jizoku: Sento Jizoku, Tottori ni Tsuite iru Dare to Filming” and other works.

From the September 8, 2023 issue of FRIDAY