8:03 am: “I could not stand watching this on my couch”

After confronting the jihadists, this time it will be the Russian army: a young French fighter with experience in Kiev, Syria, preparing to return before “helping the Ukrainians retain their independence.”

The 28-year-old Frenchman says his name is Pierre and came from Normandy (northwest) without further details. He hopes to land where he is “most effective”: “at the forefront”, he will be able to use skills such as “12.7 (machine guns) and 14.5 with snipers in recent years in Syria against the Russians. Mimi, Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers”

On February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Pierre, a former home painter trainer who regularly worked on construction sites, was at home. He gets “rebellious” when he sees these pictures. “In the afternoon, I said to myself: This is good, I’m out. I can not sit on my couch watching this.”

Ten days later, he is in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited foreign volunteers to join the protest against the Russian invasion. About 20,000 people have already arrived, according to the Ukrainian government, which cannot be verified from an independent source.