"There are no more residents on the front lines, so all you hear is gunfire and gunfire. The moment the drone floats, shells fly with a whistling wind sound. You have to focus on this split second to know the direction of the shell."

Kim Mo (33), head of the South Korean volunteer army of the International Brigade of the Ukrainian Homeland Defense Force, gave a video interview to the media on 22 March (local time), before the first anniversary of the war, to convey the life-or-death situation on the eastern front line.

Last year, some South Koreans, such as former Captain Lee Geun, participated in the war in Ukraine and returned home, but this is a new confirmation that the Korean volunteer army is still active in the area one year after the war began.

Kim said he had heard that most of the other South Korean volunteers had returned home and that there is now one more member in another unit besides himself.

On the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Kim volunteered to be interviewed, saying that he wanted to publicize the truth and appeal for support for Ukraine.

Kim, who has worked for the Special Warfare Command and the National Intelligence Service for nearly nine years, entered Ukraine at the end of October after preparing to join the Navy as a naval officer, thinking that the war would not end easily and that he would have to repay the help South Korea had received in the past.

"My great-grandfather campaigned for independence under Japanese rule, and my grandfather was shot in the Korean War," he said, adding, "The Republic of Korea is where it is today because of the support of countries around the world at that time. If we are indifferent to this war, which country will help us in the event of a second Korean War later?"

He said, "I even had experience in irregular warfare overseas," adding, "I felt that if I ignored this terrible war, I would not be able to live the rest of my life on my own."

Even for Team Leader Kim, who has practical experience and determination, the battlefield in Ukraine is nothing short of harsh.

Infantry operations are extremely dangerous, especially in plains areas that are unprotected from Russian artillery fire.

"There are no more residents on the front line, so all you hear is gunfire and gunfire," he said, adding, "If you get in an armored vehicle, you have to East Sea walk from a distance because the sound can be heard several kilometers away."

Soldiers are at a high point as they often move at night to avoid enemy boundaries, making it difficult to identify mines and booby traps.

Difficult is compounded by the fact that people often suffer serious ankle and knee injuries due to the lack of visibility into roads and ground damaged by shelling, and even drones in the sky have to be on the lookout in all directions.

"There are actually 24-hour Russian drones hovering on the front lines," he said, "and if the drones hover overhead, you can assume that at that moment the artillery fire comes."

Tank guns come in before they can even be heard, but mortar rounds, which are mainly used by infantrymen, make a whistling sound of "whee~" before they fall, he said.

He said he had to focus on this split second to know if the shells were directed at him, adding, "If it's on our side, you have to scatter and get on the ground."

What's more, the drone is constantly tracking the location of allies and transmitting it to the artillery in real time, so you can't rest assured that you've avoided shelling once.

Even scarier than these mortars are drones dropping grenades and anti-tank rocket shells overhead.

This is because, unlike shelling, where the sound is usually heard first, the bombs dropped by these drones can be struck without knowing the English language if you neglect your guard even for a moment.



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There are many videos online of the Ukrainian army using these drones to attack Russian forces, but in reality, the Russian army's drone force is superior, he said.

He said, "The Russian military is ahead in both the quantity and performance of drones, and is more actively using electronic warfare to jam radio waves."

Recently, he said the barracks around him were completely destroyed by a Russian suicide destruct drone attack, causing numerous casualties.

In fact, the frontline life, with temporary use of vacant houses that have become abandoned, is a shortage and poor state of all things.

The power lines are not properly supplied with water, electricity, and gas, so toilets have to be made conventionally, and most people can't take a shower, so they wipe themselves with wet wipes.

In addition, living indoors tightly enclosed to avoid self-destruct drone attacks often leads to infectious diseases such as colds and enteritis.

There is a shortage of combat food for the field and it is difficult to cook food, so we can afford to fill our meals with bread, canned food, and protein powder.

However, Kim's special operations team is said to be able to cope with the cold with difficulty thanks to the provision of portable generators and sleeping bags.

In these extreme conditions, dozens of Kim's team members were killed or injured, and 3% of the team was replaced in just over three months, as they abandoned the battle themselves.

Kim was also recently attacked by a tank gun, but he avoided a direct hit and his bulletproof gear blocked the shrapnel, saving his life.

"I'm very lucky I didn't die," he said, adding that some of his teammates were hospitalized with injuries.

He is still receiving hospital treatment for deafness and nerve damage caused by the constant combat stress, but he said he has no intention of stopping fighting and returning home right away.

"Everyone on the front lines has this level of injury. In Ukraine, too, many young people have volunteered to join the army," he said, adding, "For me, life is not just about breathing, but about living meaningfully so that I can admit to myself."

The older brother in the family knows about Kim's involvement in the war, but his parents still know that his second son enlisted as a naval officer.

Kim said, "I haven't let you know yet because I'm worried about you, but I think it's time for you to know. I'll tell you when it's right."

When asked about being punished after returning home for violating the Passport Act, he replied, "I came here with the idea that I could die, so I am not worried about punishment unless it is the death penalty," adding, "I am afraid that I will ignore injustice myself."

(Photo = Courtesy of Kim Mo, head of the volunteer army of the International Brigade of the Ukrainian Homeland Defense Force, Yonhap News)