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‼️ So Unit 312 needs all the help we can find. Indicating in the designation - "for Swedes from 312".
Blue / Yellow for Ukraine is a Lithuanian organization led by Swedish-born journalist and documentary filmmaker Jonas Oman, which has been consistently supporting Ukraine in the war since 2014 blaljusisamverkan.se/
Blåljus i Samverkan is a Swedish volunteer organization under the leadership of Per Johansson, which helps the families of policemen, firefighters and doctors, and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion - also Ukraine blaljusisamverkan.se/
We are talking with Viktor for more than two hours on the Stockholm waterfront near the Royal Palace and the Swedish Parliament. It is cold here in November. But we are talking. And talking. And talking...
Viktor Forsmark is a professional Swedish military man in the past. Today, he heads unit 312, helping Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines since March 2022. Viktor and his comrades created a medical patrol to evacuate the wounded after the death of their commander - a 28-year-old Swede, Edvard Selander Patrignani on the battlefield near Donetsk in July of this year while saving his comrades.
Victor tells how many physical, financial and bureaucratic obstacles he encounters every day on his way to the front line - both from Sweden and from Ukraine. Added to this is the chaos of war, a lot of confusion with the participation of foreign troops in the Armed Forces, the lack of stable funding and a big difference in our mentality.
But despite all the delays, this incredible young man does not deviate from his path. His goal is to build a successful company that will professionally provide effective, high-quality military, medical, and transport assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces as long as Ukraine needs it. To achieve this, Viktor has to fulfill the role of, as he says, "paper pusher" every day. He must be a person who prepares tons of papers for the efficient operation of the unit.
- Few people want to do it because there is no glory. Volunteers want to "kick Russians' ass", - says Viktor, - but logistics will win the wars. Someone has to do this invisible but significant job. I am the second lieutenant. It is absurd that I am the squad commander. Someone else - more professional and experienced - should be the leader of the combat unit. But this "someone" never appeared. So if I see a problem, I have to solve it. Because if you can help, you must.
Since February, Viktor had been in Sweden, coordinating hundreds of Swedish volunteers who wanted to go to the front in Ukraine. Then, step by step, he built a system of supplying equipment to those who left, their correct legal registration in the Ukrainian army, and created a volunteer organization in Sweden - 312e.se/
Since March 2022, all his boys have been fighting at the expense of their savings. Only very recently, most of them were able to sign contracts with the Armed Forces. But these personal funds also go to self-sufficiency in the war, purchase, and repair of transport, and fuel, covering all household needs.
In August, after the death of his commander and friend, Viktor joined his unit in Ukraine. Now they are creating a medical patrol at the brigade from scratch. He takes care of everything - from the supply of medicines to establishing communication with the Ukrainian military, adapting the Swedish system of evacuating the wounded to the realities of our war. Viktor and his team not only defend Ukraine with weapons in hand but also translate and distribute instructions for the use of European medicines and first-aid kits and conduct training of Ukrainians as military instructors and medics.
"Hundreds of incredible, brave Ukrainians and foreigners who could have been saved are dying because of the lack of well-arranged, high-quality medical care," says Viktor. And I can see on his face how many brothers he remembers at this moment, not allowing himself to cry.
Listening to the two hours of our conversation, I almost fall in love with this guy. He is not just testing himself and his courage. Despite all the chaos and disappointment, despite the death of friends and the ruin that he sees every day in Ukraine, Viktor - builds from scratch, founds new, and creates the most important.
When I listen to him, I have before my eyes - an ancient glacier on which Sweden stands and for generations drinks clear crystal water from it. Viktor, and people like him, are the foundation of modern Swedish society. Due to respect for his personality and choice, his parents were able to grow in this wonderful boy the belief that he can change something in the world.
That he can change the world. / voice4ukraine