Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych, a veteran of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and defender of the Donetsk airport, explained in an interview with Online.UA who managed to thwart Russia's plans at the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Points of attention
- The first-line reserve saved Ukraine in 2022, increasing the combat potential of the army by two or three times.
- The key to success in defense and mobilization of citizens lies in the support of the state and the honesty of information policy.
- Ukrainians need to unite in order to protect the state and strengthen the national spirit.
- The military aggression of the Russian Federation traumatizes the psyche of Ukrainians, so it is important to tell the truth and support the psychological state of the population.
The first-line reserve saved Ukraine in 2022
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had a professional army that had been fighting for a long time. At that time, our state was defended by people from the first-line reserve.
According to Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych, it was these people who "took away" 2022. In a short time, the army has doubled or tripled in size.
We believe in the Armed Forces - this mantra is absolutely harmful. On the contrary, it is necessary to somehow prepare to become the Armed Forces, and people were prepared for the fact that these cool guys will now decide everything. The more honest and open the state is in its information policy, the better it seems to me.
![Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych](https://www.online.ua/static/content/thumbs/85x85/b/47/mronz3---c1x1x50px50p--c6ae607220f3eb3ed4c922916e9c747b.jpg)
Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych
A veteran of the Armed Forces, a defender of the Donetsk airport
In an interview, Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych shared a story about a conversation with an ordinary taxi driver in Lviv.
I once drove with a taxi driver in Lviv. He told me about some of his Kent, who is in the 47th. And I arrived just then from the counterattack. And I understood there what was being said. This dude said that he was dissuading his friend from going to war, and he was hesitating. In the head of this man, a taxi driver from Lviv, the main claims were against the state. "If the state would talk to me honestly and tell me the real situation, it would be easier for me to make a decision." And you have to try to speak sincerely and frankly with such simple men.
Ukrainians need to unite to save the state
The veteran of the Armed Forces noted that Ukrainians need to get together, because there is a high probability that our state will perish.
If we don't get together, we will have to throw out those who identify themselves as Ukrainians. And it will most likely not work to bring everyone down. All this should be explained, and not told that everything will be solved somehow. We don't have to worry about hurting someone's psyche, because, well, where else is there to hurt anything? Children and pregnant women die here every day - said Dmytro "Ivich" Verbych.
According to "Ivich", due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation, the psyche of Ukrainians is already traumatized, so the representatives of the authorities need to be as frank as possible with their population.