Many people hailing from the Russian-speaking middle class and intelligentsia have reinvented themselves as Ukrainian patriots. Oleksandr Mamaluy, an arbitration court judge who’s presided over high-profile cases involving the richest people in Kharkiv, is now a sniper patrolling the area around Donetsk’s airport, which has witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting in the war. In corrupt Ukraine, it’s easy for a judge of his stature to dodge the draft, Mamaluy says. But he volunteered for a company of sharpshooters, even though he could face a horrific death should the enemy take him prisoner. “I have six snipers MIA in my platoon. I hope none of them has been captured alive,” he says.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:27:47 +0000