English translation ⸻ It is one of the overlooked aspects of the war in Ukraine, more than three and a half years after the start of the Russian invasion: the presence of fighters from Western Europe among the Ukrainian forces, even though the European Union, it should be recalled, has never deployed a military contingent to the front. L’Essentiel was able to speak with one of them—the only Luxembourger known to date—who chose to take up arms for Ukraine. At 28 years old, the man who calls himself “Lux” enlisted in April 2022, two months after the war began, and is still there today. “Recently, I passed by the place where the French journalist was killed,” he notes, as he recounts the sequence of his “missions,” as he calls them. Just back from one of them, the soldier spoke about his “decision to defend Ukraine.” “I couldn’t just sit and let the genocide happen” “The genocide of Ukrainians, including women and children, is horrifying. I couldn’t just sit and watch it happen when I’m capable of making a difference by helping directly,” explains the young man, saying he is “deeply inspired by the resilience and bravery” of the Ukrainian people. Without any particular connection to the Eastern European country or military background, Lux wanted “to do something meaningful” after studying in Austria at the University of Innsbruck. Returning to Luxembourg during the pandemic, he worked as a substitute teacher in primary schools and even gave private math lessons to high school students. Nothing in his background seemed to predestine him, a few years later, to wear military gear and carry an automatic weapon in the midst of trench warfare. Roads “strewn with bodies” Arriving as an infantry soldier, the young Luxembourger joined the foreign legion before entering the special forces this year. It was also in 2025 that he trained to pilot drones. On the ground, the soldier has experienced the hell of combat in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions. He describes roads “strewn with bodies and burned Russian vehicles” and particularly deadly episodes, such as a day in June 2024 when the Russians stormed his bunker. “It was the hardest day. Kamikaze drones were flying at me every two minutes. I still don’t know how I survived,” says the fighter, who so far has never been injured. “The situation on the front line is very difficult, with extremely dangerous movements for both sides because of the increased use of drones. The Russians also carry out suicide missions with between two and six men, used as cannon fodder,” he explains, acknowledging that “both sides are paying a heavy price.” The Ukrainians’ dependence on Western aid remains “significant,” while Russia’s struggles to make major breakthroughs “boost Ukrainian morale.” On the front line, “Lux” has fought alongside other volunteers from France, the United States, Great Britain, Poland, and Israel in 2022, and from Brazil and Colombia in 2023 and 2024. This year, all his comrades-in-arms were Ukrainian. As peace seems more distant than ever, he does not, at this stage, plan to return to Luxembourg: “I will fight until the end of the war,” he concludes. ⸻