One of five mobile saunas was requested by Ukrainian soldiers. But what is the reason? — Photo: BBC Mobile saunas were requested by Ukrainian soldiers. But what is the reason? — Photo: BBC
“Saunas for the front”. That’s not the first slogan that comes to mind when you think of aid for the war in Ukraine. You can understand that Kiev demands longrange missiles and F16 fighter jets from its allies. But… saunas?
However, the Ukrainian military has asked about saunas, according to Ilmar Raag, an Estonian filmmaker and aid worker who frequently travels to Ukraine.
Now, with the help of crowdfunding, Raag is producing mobile sauna units designed to serve hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers. They have showers and washing machines for their military uniforms and are carefully camouflaged to protect them from Russian fire.
And if you are looking for the ideal sauna, it makes sense to consult an Estonian. The sauna culture is big in the country. It serves both hygiene and morale and provides warmth on cold winter nights.
Even during recent missions in the deserts of Afghanistan and Lebanon, Estonian soldiers are rarely without a mobile sauna. It’s a military tradition that began about 100 years ago during Estonia’s fight against the Bolsheviks, when the state railway company set up a sauna train near the front line so troops could shower and disinfect after weeks of service in the trenches.
Raag said he had heard of Ukrainian soldiers going days or even weeks without washing or changing their boots, which explains why a commander at the front near Bajmut told me over a FaceTime call that the Estonian saunas be a gift from heaven.
2 out of 5 More and more Finnish men and women are signing up for weapons training Photo: BBC More and more Finnish men and women are signing up for weapons training Photo: BBC
Many people living in European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, neighbors of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, are doing their best to help Ukraine.
Estonia and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by the Soviet Union in the decades after World War II. They say they feel Ukraine’s pain over Moscow’s invasion.
In addition, they have provided or promised more aid in a short period of time than any other country, including the United States and the United Kingdom, relative to the size of their economy.
Only Norway beats them when it comes to longterm commitments, according to the latest figures from the Kiel Institute, which monitors donations sent to Ukraine since the start of the war.
Gediminas Ivanauskas, the Lithuanian national champion in drifting a motorsport sport that involves using the back of a car to skid and spin at high speed traveled to Ukraine from the first day of the Russian invasion to join to help evacuate civilians.
His eyes fill with tears as he tells me about the suffering there.
His desire to help, his frustration with the slow pace of international relief efforts, and his experience in the automotive world led him to use crowdsourced microfinance to armor hundreds of vehicles. He does this in a small rented garage in rural Lithuania.
Some vehicles are equipped for use as fourwheel ambulances of the Ukrainian army.
In the case of Lithuanian Mindaugas Lietuvninkas, a volunteer sniper with the Ukrainian International Brigade, there are other motivations for helping in the war effort.
A proud patriot, he believes that by fighting in Ukraine he is protecting his own country.
“We have to stop [a Rússia] now in Ukraine,” he told me vehemently as he packed his bags to make another trip to the front lines of battle.
Lietuvninkas believes the Baltic countries could be next if Vladimir Putin triumphs against Kiev.
3 of 5 Mindaugas Lietuvninkas (left) says that by fighting in Ukraine he is protecting Lithuania Photo: MINDAUGAS LIETUVNINKAS Mindaugas Lietuvninkas (left) says that by fighting in Ukraine he is protecting Lithuania Photo: MINDAUGAS LIETUVNINKAS
Lithuania is one of Russia’s many neighbors that are part of the Western military alliance NATO.
There have long been loud warnings about the Kremlin’s expansion plans and Vladimir Putin’s intentions to weaken and destabilize the West.
For years the Allies treated them as if they were on the verge of paranoia. Not today.
Russia’s allout invasion of Ukraine gave NATO a new meaning: an increased presence in allied countries near Russia and inspiring new members on Putin’s doorstep.
Finland has a huge 1,300 km long land border with Russia. The country has always refused to join NATO for fear of becoming an enemy of its giant neighbor. But the Finns completely changed their minds when they saw Russian troops invade sovereign Ukraine.
It is a drastic change for the country, which, together with the Baltic power Sweden, applied to join the alliance shortly after the start of the war.
The number of Finns signing up for weapons training has also increased significantly. Conscription is mandatory for young people who become lifelong reservists.
The long shadow cast over Finland by its Russian neighbor now seems more threatening, people tell me.
The war had a major impact on Finnish companies. By the start of the war, Russian tourism amounted to around US$630 million (approximately R$3 billion) per year.
But like most European Union countries that border Russia or its close ally Belarus, Finland has suspended travel visas for Russian citizens.
In snowy Lapland, I met the owner of the Ville Aho ski resort in his chalet overlooking the Russian mountains.
He tells me that he has made good friends with Russian visitors over the years, but now he doesn’t want them to return. He said he wished Russians, especially those living outside their country, would speak out much louder against the war.
When he talks about Ukraine, he is visibly moved and insists that none of us can give ourselves the right to cut off contact or no longer be interested in the issue while the bloody war continues.
“I can’t imagine what the consequences would be if Russia won and Putin increased his power. Who would be next? Finland, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania? All this must end in Ukraine.”
The Russian president is not just relying on conventional war. Some accuse Moscow of cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns against the West.
But a military attack on one of the countries he mentioned would be a major risk for Vladimir Putin.
All other NATO members, including the nuclear powers USA, Great Britain and France, could offer help. However, there is no irrefutable guarantee that this will happen. Ultimately, it is up to each country to decide how to respond.
This makes Russia’s bordering states nervous because, like Latvia, there is a large ethnic Russian population there.
The second largest city in Latvia, Daugavpils is located 25 km from Belarus and 120 km from Russia.
4 out of 5 BBC reporter on a busy street in Latvia; Ethnic Russians in Daugavpils refused to answer when asked if Ukraine was a victim of this war Photo: BBC BBC reporter on a busy street in Latvia; Ethnic Russians in Daugavpils refused to answer when asked if Ukraine was a victim of this war Photo: BBC
Eight out of ten people living there speak Russian instead of Latvian at home. Most were educated in Russianspeaking schools in Latvia. Traditionally, they also received news from Russian television, radio or news websites.
The lack of Ukrainian flags in the city was immediately noticeable. In the rest of the country, it is common to see fluttering in schools, town halls and shops as a sign of solidarity.
Even though not all Russians support Putin, the people I passed on the street didn’t want to talk about the war. When asked whether they saw Russia as an aggressor and Ukraine as a victim, they refused to answer.
Latvia fears Vladimir Putin may try to “save” ethnic Russians here. This was one of the pretexts he gave Russian armed groups to occupy parts of Ukraine’s Donbass region near the border with Russia until 2014.
In an effort to isolate ethnic Russians from what it sees as Russian propaganda, the Latvian government has banned Russian television channels.
It also put an end to Russian literacy. The remaining Sovietera monuments were demolished.
But Latvia is treading an extremely delicate path.
The new measures aim to better integrate ethnic Russians, but critics say there is also an intention to force citizens to share the government’s Western perspective.
5 out of 5 Norwegian recruits are often sent to the Russian border as guards Photo: BBC Norwegian recruits are often sent to the Russian border as guards Photo: BBC
On the one hand, there is a risk of alienating many ethnic Russians, they warn, but on the other hand, it could drive them into the arms of Vladimir Putin.
This complexity and sensitivity is likely to remain even after the end of the war in Ukraine.
In total I traveled 2,400km to meet people and find out what they thought about Living Alongside Putin the title of a twopart documentary series my team and I made for BBC TV.
From southern Poland to the far north of Norway, what struck me most was how farreaching, profound and personal the impact of the war in Ukraine is, far from the front lines.
And the future is not at all clear.
Much will depend on how this conflict ends. But what kind of relationship could or should we have with Russia after that? What happens to collaboration and trust?
These are not just questions for the countries we visit that share a border and so much history with Russia. All of Europe and all of Ukraine’s allies need to think about this. Very carefully.