Writer and volunteer, and now a soldier, Serhiy Zhadan told Lb.ua in an exclusive commentary about his decision to join the National Guard.
"We have been planning to mobilise for a long time. Since winter, we have been preparing, passing the military fitness test, and now we are in training. We are members of the band Zhadan i Sobaky, three of us,’ he said.
Zhadan will serve in the Charter Brigade. This brigade was founded in Kharkiv.
"This is our big family. We helped to create it, stood at its origins, supported it as volunteers... When there was a poetry evening at the Sports Palace in Kyiv, I was already a recruit and wrote a leave application - the management was understanding and let me go. Moreover, the evening was a charity event, and we donated all the money we earned to the Charter,’ the writer said.
"We'll see what happens with my creative work. For now, I repeat, we are recruits,’ Zhadan added, noting that it is too early to say what exactly he will do in the army.
The 13th Brigade of Operational Purpose Charter (13th Operational Brigade) is part of the National Guard of Ukraine. After the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, the Charter Battalion was created in Kharkiv and became part of the 127th Territorial Defence Brigade. The unit took part in the battles for Kharkiv and near Kharkiv. In the winter of 2022, he fought near Bakhmut. In early 2023, it was reorganised into the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine as part of the Offensive Guard campaign.
In March, Zhadan announced that he had joined the Charter battalion, but did not provide any details.