In a moment that could have turned deadly for Felix Metrikas, his mind was on Ukrainian recruits.

A flashpoint in months of ever-present danger, this moment is the reality of Russia’s brutal invasion.

Blast-proof bunkers are locked and filled with recruits at this military base in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 50km from the Russian border.

The cohort is there to bolster Ukraine’s resistance against Soviet-era inspired elitism, dispensed by Russia at the end of AK-47s, tanks and missiles.

Here Felix is out of options; doom is on the wings of airborne seven-metre missiles locked on the base.

Cowering behind a tree, its trunk hardly shielding him, on reflection Felix realises his 23-year life could have ended here.

“It was a mix of being scared but then also having a responsibility for the people around me,” Felix tells the Addy this week from Lviv in western Ukraine.

“A couple of s300 rockets targeted the base. I was about 70 metres away from one of the buildings that was destroyed and that was the closest I’ve even been to death.”

When the last of the missiles hit an aircraft hangar on the base, Felix is stunned in a shower of concrete and brick.

The firepower of the missile is so strong it leaves a crater which consumes a grown man who later stands in it.

This October day is not the first time Felix has faced a flash point of this kind.

There’s been missile strikes when air raid sirens haven’t sounded. At another time stray bullets meant for spying drones shattered a cafe’s windows as he sat metres away.

On this October day, Felix has been training military recruits for six months.

He’s thought Ukrainian recruits the skills he picked up with the Australian Defence Force during two years as a reservist which ended in 2019.

Tactics to protect a machine gun operator, how to hold and fire an AK-74 and other military moves have been passed onto Ukrainians going head first into war.

The Ukrainian army has swelled to more than 500,000 since the invasion.

That’s come with the help of the Trident Defense Initiative (TDI) , a group of foreign former military personnel like Felix; all desperate to share their skills with the Ukrainians.

TDI’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed; in October a news story about it was shared by the Instagram account of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to 16 million followers.

TDI’s work is being thwarted by 300,000 mobilised Russians which adds to the million defence personnel at Vladimir Putin’s disposal pre-war.

Contrastingly Australia’s military had about 84,800 serving members last year.

The stark reality of this conflict is that some of the recruits Felix has trained could die on the battlefront.

It’s a possibility Felix has come to terms with.

“A lot of these soldiers were innocent guys a week ago,” he says.

“A lot of them are grandparents. They are not war fighters, they’re train drivers, electricians and farmers; they’ve been put in uniform and given a gun that they don’t know how to use.

“There were guys in the 60s and 70s that had served in the Soviet army. We were retraining those guys to defend the northern border.

“For a lot of drafted guys.... they might get one or two days training before they are in positions with a unit on a front line.

War has personal connection for Geelong lad

The War in Ukraine is a personal afront for Felix.

Ethnically Lithuanian, he can’t sit idle as Soviet overlords attempt to snatch parts of Ukraine.

About 17m Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the war.

“I see the Russian Federation as the last colonial power which is oppressing millions of its own citizens today,” Felix says.

War still rages. The coastal cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson in the country’s south, Donetsk in the east and Kharkiv in the northeast are just some of the battlegrounds.

Felix’s crusade hasn’t been without personal cost.

When he left Donetsk in December for relative safety in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, he couldn’t shake red rashes daubing his legs and elbows.

Skin peeling and bed ridden while in Kyiv, these were the likely results of weeks living near the front line in cramped, unhygienic and malnourished conditions.

Despite the personal cost, Felix is resolute.

“The soldiers I’ve worked with are motivating me to stay.

“I can go home whenever I want really. For the guys I’ve trained they either win or they die.

“I don't want to leave without doing as much as I can for those guys.”

Even in areas of relative safety, like Kyiv, danger is present.

“There will be artillery going off and Ukraine are sending counter battery out and by the sound of it you can tell it’s close but then walking down the street next to you is a grandma pushing a pram with a baby in it; it’s surreal.”

Ukraine’s fight is a global effort

UKRAINIAN resistance is being propped up by the West.

America and Germany will send tanks. Australia and France will send ammunition. The UK will send long-range missiles.

The work of on-the-ground charities is also assisting the fight.

Felix has worked with charity Forever Ukraine started by Oleg Grabovyy, an Ukraine-born America on the ground.

The charity has delivered $5m worth of foreign aid donations including food, military uniforms and medical supplies.

Oleg says the war is far from over.

“Life here is rough; people are struggling and I hope... people can continue to support.

“There is no room for peace talks until Russia give back the land they took.”

Recently Felix travelled to Poland to purchase a 4WD that he will use to get supplies to the front line in Ukraine.

Oleg says Felix is a “goddamn hero”.

“He just has a big heart. He has no obligation to come here. His motivation to be here is good morals. He brings out of the best in us.”

In Kyiv when he speaks to the Addy, Felix reflects on the ongoing resistance.

“The whole war was meant to be over in three days. No one expected the Ukrainians to be able to actually pull this resistance off. It is inspiring they are such brave people.

“The war is still going. I know it’s a year on and people can’t help lose interest... it is still an extremely difficult situation and it’s going to get worse as it gets colder.

“Maintain an awareness that these people are really suffering; anything that we can do to try to end this, we just have to do it for these innocent people.”

Geelong gets behind Ukraine with supplies

The Geelong community is pulling together to contribute to the Ukrainian resistance against Russia.

Tourniquets, gauze, an electronic microscope worth thousands, 100s of first aid kits, anti-fungal cream, thermals, military clothing, surgical grasps, oxygen masks and wound dressings have been sent to Ukraine in shipments weighing 70kgs.

IV drips, panadol, tinea cream, suture kits, headlamps, load-bearing vests, compasses and two-way radios have also been sent.

Co-ordinating the effort is Geelong business man Jon Metrikas who is ethnically Lithuanian.

His son, Felix, has been in Ukraine since May and is working with charity Forever Ukraine.

“We are staunch believers in democracy and free choice. What’s happening now is imposition of a criminal state against a budding democracy.”

Felix says: “No one with Forever Ukraine is on a salary. They are Ukrainian people who have lost their jobs or they’ve decided they are going to do this work until they are free.”

Forever Ukraine

http://fwu.com.ua/