Heartbreaking news that we’ve lost Chris Garrett, “Swampy" — a British EOD specialist and volunteer who has served in Ukraine since 2014.

I first met Chris in Ukraine nearly a decade ago, in the early years after Russia’s first invasion. I was immediately impressed by his humble attitude toward the extraordinary things he did. Chris was the best of the best. He gave his life to a just and noble and cause, and he saved the lives of countless innocent and good people over the years.

In the following thread I’ve pasted an excerpt from a story I wrote in 2017 about Chris and his work with what was at the time known as the Azov Regiment. 🧵(1/10) (2/10)

I shot this video in July 2021 while aboard the USS Ross, a US Navy destroyer, in the Black Sea.

In the foreground is a Russian frigate, the Ladny (one of several Russian warships that shadowed us for days).

In the background is a Ukrainian oil platform, under Russian control at the time.

https://twitter.com/nolanwpeterson/status/1411030489956298754

And from the deck of the USS Ross, underway in the Black Sea in July 2021, I took these photos of Russian Su-24s buzzing us...over and over.

One of the hardest parts of this past year has been the amount of time my wife and I have spent apart. The prolonged separation from Lilly because of Russia's invasion has added an entirely new layer to my understanding of war, and all its hardships. 🧵/1 As an Air Force pilot, I learned about the combatant's experience. As a journalist, I bore witness to war’s toll on civilians and soldiers alike. /2

In Kyiv — I just heard several explosions. Not sure the source but loud from where I am in the city center. We’re under an air raid alert. More sounds of explosions just now, sounds like air defenses. Ukrainian Air Force reports a ‘massive’ Russian cruise missile attack is ongoing.

Just woke up at 4:30 am here in central Kyiv to the sound of an explosion — unsure what it was. We’re in an air raid alert that began at 1:57 a.m. Seeing reports of another Russian attack using Iranian-made exploding drones. Ukrainian air defenses working.

Striking on early Monday morning has become Moscow’s modus operandi.

Also — power is still on where I live.

Just heard an explosion — not sure from what — from where I am in central Kyiv. We’re under an air raid alert. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Entire country is currently under and air raid alert.

Explosions in Kyiv. Air defenses have been hard at work, knocking out incoming Russian cruise missiles.

This video begins with a 53-y/old Ukrainian volunteer soldier named Vasiliy Ivaskiv leading me to safety while Russian forces fire on us

It was June 2015; I was embedded w/the Ukrainian army in Pisky

Ivaskiv died in combat this past Thursday. He was 60.

A former coal miner from the western Ukrainian town of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ivaskiv nicknamed me “America,” and he had a habit (despite my protests) of using his body to shield me from sniper fire.

I haven’t seen my wife since the war started, so I came to visit her in a little town in southern France, where she’s been living since before the Feb. 24 invasion (I suspected the full-scale war would happen, so she left Ukraine ahead of time)… 1/ When I arrived, I first noticed the Ukrainian flags at town hall. And the local Orthodox Church is collecting humanitarian supplies for Ukrainians… 2/

I just received news that my friend Denys Antipov, whom I wrote about in the tweet below, was killed on the front lines.

A Korean language professor and an entrepreneur, Denys was “a dream of a man,” as one one of his colleagues put it.

https://twitter.com/nolanwpeterson/status/1524116719333167105

Denys, who served in the Donbas war in 2015, spent several weeks in the US last November as part of a State Department program to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs.

At 1435 today, two American volunteers in Ukraine’s armed forces were wounded by artillery fire near Orikhiv. Manus McCaffrey & Paul Gray. Both are US Army veterans. 1/ The two worked together as a team targeting Russian tanks with Javelins. McCaffrey suffered shrapnel wounds to his face, head, and torso. A concrete wall fell on Gray, wounding his foot. Both men are in hospital. 2/

Tomorrow is the 2-month anniversary of the start of the full-scale war.

It feels like a lifetime ago.

Of all my experiences, what stand out most are the innumerable conversations I've had with Ukrainian soldiers & civilians who never wavered in their belief in victory.

1/ Since 2014, I have witnessed, firsthand, how Ukrainians’ pursuit of their democratic dreams laid the groundwork for their resistance to Russia’s full-scale invasion.

2/

From an American volunteer on the front lines outside of Kyiv:

"Sitting close to the frontline, the last safe mode of transportation leaves for greener pastures. A core group of about 30 foreign fighters remains out of around 200 people who were here just minutes ago..." 1/ "The base we came from was struck by rockets in the early morning hours. People we lived with for a couple days are confirmed dead. It is only a matter of time before our location is targeted. We are about to be cut off by a Russian tank column any day now..." 2/

Something bad is in the air tonight. We're under a national emergency, airports are shutting down, military reserves have been called up. I lack the talent to express what it feels like to be in this European capital, home to millions... and to feel a chill that has nothing to do with the cold as we brace for a distant madman's wrath. It's just unreal, and unbelievably tragic. I'm sitting here, waiting to hear the booms of the missiles and bombs.

In 2014 I witnessed the awful aftermath of armored warfare on the outskirts of Mariupol. I wrote the following words in the hours immediately thereafter. I post them here now as a reminder of the reality of war, and the true nature of Russia's crimes. 1/ Charred bodies dotted the freshly stilled battlefields. These were men who did not die well. Not by the mercy of a gunshot to the head or the heart. /2

Email just now from US embassy in Kyiv:

“On February 12, 2022, the Department of State ordered the departure of most U.S. direct hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action.” “As of Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, the Department of State will suspend consular services at the US Embassy in Kyiv. The Embassy will maintain a small consular presence in Lviv, Ukraine to handle emergencies, but will not be able to provide passport, visa or routine consular services.

Ukrainian troops have dealt w/the risk of a Russian false-flag provocation for years

On my recent front-line trip, one soldier told me:

‘They want to provoke us to shoot back with bigger weapons…& to say that we broke the cease-fire & not our enemies’

coffeeordie.com/ukraine-front-… The constant dangers keep soldiers on edge. Yet, one of the most demanding aspects of the war, from the Ukrainians’ perspective, is their restricted ability to retaliate while under fire.

Thread.

The mood is generally calm on the ground here in Kyiv.

Tonight, my wife & I went bowling — the place was packed. Christmas decorations are up at the mall. People are at work, kids are in school (except for some Covid-related exceptions) — life goes on.

1/ Ukraine has been at war for 7.5 years. It takes a lot to rattle Ukrainians these days — and they don't tend to overdramatize events.

Some remain skeptical about the Russian invasion threat.

Others tear up when they talk about what might happen.

2/