We didn’t want to worry our daughter, so we were not totally honest with her. We told her that I was volunteering to help the war effort, always on the road, and could rarely be reached. This went on for some time. Eventually, my wife told our daughter the truth. Despite all the fears, my family understands that it was the right thing to do.

But since the day I mobilized, I have had some trouble communicating with them. The aggressors are fighting not only against the military but also against civilians, mercilessly destroying military but also civilian infrastructure.

What was your childhood like? What was it like growing up Jewish in Ukraine?

I grew up in the late 1960s and early 1970s. My brother and I were born in the Western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, and graduated from a secondary school in nearby Rivne.

We were raised in the world of books  — there was a huge library in our house. Otherwise our childhood was rather typical: school, sports, music classes.

But I had no experience with Judaism. My parents, brought up under the Soviet regime, were both atheists.

Yet, I was conscious of the fact that I’m Jewish. My father explained that to me when I was in high school, while showing me a book about the Nuremberg trials. There was a part describing the execution of Jews in the town of Dubno, not far from Rivne.

I remember my brother reprimanding me when he learned that I was ashamed of my Jewish roots — to be a Jew in the Soviet Union, I would say, was not considered something to be proud of. But I was not guided by the precepts of Judaism and I remain outside the world of religion.  My parents didn’t give us a Jewish education, and the Soviet system definitely didn’t.

In truth, my Jewish identity is far from a determining factor in my decisions and actions. I am among those who oppose the aggressor because I want a simple thing: my daughter, relatives, and citizens of Ukraine as a nation to live in a democratic society. We, Jews and not-Jews, are all united in defending our homeland from a terrorist state for the right to have a future as an independent nation.

Have you experienced antisemitism?

When I was younger, during Soviet times, I served in the Russian army, and experienced prejudice because I was Jewish. This sort of prejudice when I was younger has made me not want to reveal that I’m Jewish.

I will tell you a funny story from when I was in the Soviet army. One day I was sitting in a smoking room with another Jew, Sasha Huberman. Two guys from Central Asia come and turn to us and say: “Guys, we heard that there are two Jews serving in our unit. What do Jews look like? Where can they be found?”

What would you like people outside Ukraine to know about the war?

The democratic world needs to know about Russia’s aggression against the sovereign Ukrainian state. It needs to know about Russia’s many war crimes, and how it’s commiting genocide against the people of Ukraine. I could go on, but Europeans and Americans must understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to restore the Soviet empire, and revive a terrorist state that would threaten everyone.

Are you well outfitted and supplied?

I received a military uniform and a machine gun on the day of mobilization. There was some delay before I received a helmet, body armor, and a first aid kit.

Have you lost friends during the war?

Fortunately, not. But two of them are seriously wounded.

How long are you going to be at the front?

Hopefully until the end of the war. Leaving the front before that means being wounded or killed. But I still have plans for the postwar future. I plan to go back to Rivne University, where I headed the political science department and most recently taught in the Department of World History.

I strongly believe that I still have a lot to say to the youth. I also want to write a book about what I have seen in the war and share my experiences.

Have you lost friends during the war?

Fortunately, not. But two of them are seriously wounded.

How long are you going to be at the front?

Hopefully until the end of the war. Leaving the front before that means being wounded or killed. But I still have plans for the postwar future. I plan to go back to Rivne University, where I headed the political science department and most recently taught in the Department of World History.

I strongly believe that I still have a lot to say to the youth. I also want to write a book about what I have seen in the war and share my experiences.