Manos Demertzis is one of the Greeks who have joined the Ukrainian National Guard to protect his family. A former Greek army commando, he found himself in the country about three years ago when he decided to live there with his wife Christina, who is of Ukrainian origin.
As he tells protothema.gr, he stayed in Ukraine because he didn't have time to leave and now survival is a one-way street for both him and his wife.
"I can't understand that in 2022 we have a war in Europe. Thousands of innocent people have died because of the policies that some people want to implement," he says initially and adds: "My wife and I didn't expect when the war started that it would dominate the whole Ukrainian territory and we didn't have time to leave. Having knowledge on handling weapons and war equipment, together with other volunteers, ex-soldiers, hunters and others, we joined the National Guard. That is, the groups that assist the Ukrainian army and we aim to protect our families".
Manos, 27, who is near Kiev but in a place he did not want to say, revealed that many Greeks have joined the Ukrainian army and are fighting against the Russians since most of them have been in Ukraine for more than ten and fifteen years, having built their families here.
"I know that there are Greeks in the Ukrainian army who are fighting. They are the ones who have been living here for many, many years. There are also Greeks who did not have time to leave like me and joined the National Guard to protect their families. As a rule, we act with the safety of our families in mind. So we are able to return fire. But we pray that all this will stop quickly."
Source: First Theme
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