hankyoreh

Svitlana Legra, a former ballerina who is now fighting in the war against Russia, speaks to the Hankyoreh on June 17, 2022, in Borodyanka, Ukraine. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

When war broke out, she took off her ballet slippers and replaced them with combat boots. The dawn of war has turned a ballerina into a warrior.

On Friday afternoon (local time), Svitlana Legra entered the office of the humanitarian aid department in the city of Borodyanka, 40 kilometers northwest of Kyiv’s city center. Wearing a dark olive cap, T-shirt, and pants, anyone could tell at a glance that she was a soldier.

The humanitarian aid department is working out of a classroom on the first floor of Borodyanka Secondary School. Among the cities outside Kyiv, Borodyanka was the most heavily bombed by Russian forces. The area has generally been among the lesser affluent.

The 44-year-old Legra was wearing a military uniform that day. She introduced herself as “a dance teacher at a cultural university.” She joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Force back in March.

When the war broke out on Feb. 24, she started working as a volunteer in Kyiv. In the early days of the conflict, a shelter was opened for citizens and refugees in the capital city. During this time, she lived there with over 100 other people.

Beyond caring for people, volunteers delivered various goods and relief supplies to soldiers on the front lines and to cities and hospitals occupied by Russian troops. To this end, Legra and her colleagues set up three large warehouses.

“I met many people that I couldn’t trust. People who stole supplies, aggressive people…” Legra said, trailing off. “I have had many negative experiences.”

In the end, the volunteers asked the Territorial Defence Force to provide security since the buildings had children and important medicines. Upon seeing Legra guard the front of the warehouse at night and helping the military, the commander of the Territorial Defence Force asked her to join the Territorial Defence Forces herself. Legra took the commander up the offer.

From then on, Legra supported the army on the front lines and visited army bases and hospitals. Legra and her colleagues even performed ballet eight times in Borodyanka and other villages outside Kyiv, where they met people whose lives had come crashing down due to the war.

Svitlana Legra, a former ballerina who is now fighting in the war against Russia, strikes a pose for a photo on June 17, 2022, in Borodyanka, Ukraine. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Every time Legra danced, other soldiers teased her for wearing ballet shoes instead of military boots, she said. As a member of the Territorial Defence Forces, she also received military training such as shooting practice. Colleagues joked that Legra’s shooting stance was “too graceful.”

While these volunteer soldiers stand guard at set times, they also have a lot of time to do what they do best. They visit cities like Borodyanka to help build houses and buy heaters for the winter. They also deliver food and combat uniforms to be sent to soldiers on the eastern front.

When asked by the Hankyoreh when she thinks the war will end, Legra responded, “I hope it ends soon. I wish soldiers would stop dying. There have been too many deaths,” her eyes brimming with tears.

Svitlana Legra, a former ballerina who is now fighting in the war against Russia, speaks to the Hankyoreh on June 17, 2022, in Borodyanka, Ukraine. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Russian troops are likely to intensify their offensive against the eastern Donbas region and soon take down Severodonetsk, a key city in the Luhansk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed the defense of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in a briefing on Tuesday. “The hardest battle in the region is taking place,” he said, adding that “our strong men and women are taking a beating against the occupation forces.”

If these areas fall to Russia, the situation in northern Donetsk will also worsen. Military experts point out that once the Russian military achieves a grip on Luhansk, the main front is likely to move to northern Kharkiv. The two countries also exchanged missile attacks in Odesa, a port city in the western Black Sea.

But the former ballerina’s hopes for Ukraine’s future have not been dampened.

“There’s no room for doubt. No matter what happens, I won’t live under the flag of any other country. We have to liberate Crimea and all the territory that has been taken away. We will take back Ukraine’s Crimea.”

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]