More than 600 days of war behind us bring a lot of experience to a country. And it’s not just about strikes, counter-strikes, drones and battle tanks: it’s also morale of troops and people. Second, it responds to the Ukrainian government’s efforts to prevent the spread of further discouragement or sadness among millions of people. Christmas greeting messages exchanged between soldiers In Donbas and Zaporiya and their families in the country.
Since last autumn, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has been publishing summaries of the incident on television and social networks guide to talk to a soldier assigned to the war front. The abbreviated version consists of five simple indicators, which undoubtedly correspond to common sense rather than the psychological guides from which they arise. The aim is not to worry or upset the military and, most importantly, do not give information to the enemy Russian.
Ukrainian military officials called it ““Tips for Communicating with Someone in the Military”and can be applied to all types of chats, conversations and messages on social networks, telephone services or remote conversations.
Do not give information
The first is more of an order than a suggestion and has the most military weight: “Do not ask the exact location of the unitsnor because of its composition or function.
There is a terrible precedent for how expensive it is to expose positions, and this comes from war. One of the greatest disasters suffered by Russian troops during this war was the bombing of a building converted into barracks in Makivka, next to Donetsk.He killed 89 soldiers. It was New Year’s Eve 2022. The missiles hit them directly after their positions were pre-directed by Ukrainian artillery. Reason: everyone They use their mobile phones to celebrate the new year to their families.
The rule of not revealing locations or missions is complemented by another profound piece of advice that is halfway between preserving secrecy and preserving morale: standby time at a destination.”
As the war drags on on every front, the main topic of conversation becomes: fatigue and desire for relaxation. It’s a very damaging issue for morale.
Don’t worry
Despite the weight of the first advice, which is more tactically loaded, the third may be the most important from a psychological perspective: “Don’t bother with internal problems that can’t be solved right now.and in no case try to ruin a relationship (that is, beautiful) from afar.
The instruction recalls an old unwritten code of conduct among Spanish soldiers deployed abroad. This was the case reported on April 23 by Legion Corporal María José García Perea in a conversation with El Periódico de Cataluña of the Prensa Ibérica group in Lebanon, where the blue helmets often spend their nights sheltering in underground shelters while they are above. Rockets and artillery fire pass Israel and Hezbollah. He was on a mission abroad and his partner, also a soldier, called him from Spain. “He never talked to me about internal problems unless they were already resolved,” the corporal said.
The little Ukrainian manual on good practices for talking to a soldier, so important at Christmas, ends with two guidelines for lightening the conversations, making them less important and heavy, and giving them a bit of joy. “Talk to the soldier about daily matters. Feel free to give him words of support”says the fourth clue. And the fifth commands: “End the conversation on a positive note!”
To guide citizens in this area and at the same time combat low morale, Ukrainian defense forces even provided this opportunity. helpline to family members.