Name: Band of brothers: how the war crushed a cohort of young Ukrainians
Uploaded: 2025-12-01T10:07:30.721Z
Duration: 5 min 8 s
Description: Pavlo Broshkov joined the Ukrainian army under a new recruitment drive launched in February - one with sizable perks. But for him, and many others, the reality is filled with physical and psychological ordeals. This video contains content some may find distressing.

Pavlo Broshkov joined the Ukrainian army under a new recruitment drive launched in February - one with sizable perks. But for him, and many others, the reality is filled with physical and psychological ordeals. This video contains content some may find distressing.

Donetsk

A Reuters investigation tracked 20-year-old Pavlo Brozhkov and ten other young Ukrainians who joined the army under a new recruitment program offering significant financial incentives. Within months, none of the group remained on the front lines, with members wounded, missing, absent without leave, or deceased, illustrating the high human cost of Ukraine's ongoing conflict.

The report details the intense training, rapid deployment, and subsequent hardships faced by these recruits, many of whom now suffer from physical injuries and psychological trauma. The story underscores the strain on Ukraine's military, which is increasingly reliant on young volunteers as the war continues and casualties mount.

Band of brothers: how the war crushed a cohort of young Ukrainians

Pavlo Brozhkov stared into the face of death, lying broken on a battlefield in Donetsk region on Ukraine's front line, shot in both legs. He was preparing for the worst as a Russian drone carrying explosives hovered above him. I was not afraid of death. I was afraid of not seeing my wife and child again. And I was afraid that my wife wouldn't see me and my daughter wouldn't see me, but would only know who dad was through her mother's memories. Reuters tracked 20-year-old Pavlo and 10 of his comrades who joined the Ukrainian army under a new recruitment drive launched in February, one with sizable perks. The group received a crash course in warfare before being deployed to the front. Of these 11 young soldiers, none are still fighting. Four were wounded. Three are missing in action. Two are absent without leave. One got sick, and one, they say, took his own life. Around three months after signing up, Pavlo found himself wounded on the frozen ground. All the boys ran into the bushes, and this little drone above me just descends, descends, descends, and hangs at a level about two meters above me. And I see this f*****g grenade on it. I understood this was the moment I would be torn to pieces. A comrade shot it out of the sky, almost certainly saving his life. Pavlo was among hundreds of Ukrainians between the ages of 18 to 24 who volunteered to fight this year through the program. The recruitment offer included a monthly salary of up to $2,900, a $24,000 bonus, and an interest-free mortgage. For Ukraine's aging and exhausted military, these young volunteers represented fresh hope. But for many, the reality is filled with physical and psychological ordeals. And the fates of these new recruits paint a picture of the carnage Ukrainian soldiers are facing after almost four years of war against Russia. Ukraine is gradually losing territory to Russian forces in the east. And Zelensky says 30,000 people are mobilized monthly. But commanders and soldiers complain that a shortage of fighters is the main reason for Kiev's setbacks. And the youth recruitment scheme is a sign of growing strains on the country's armed forces, where the average age hovers in the 40s. After joining, Pavlo bonded quickly with fellow recruits, becoming comrades in arms. The days were intense, close combat training, drone simulations, psychological prep. In mid-June, the orders came. Pavlo was deployed to the Donetsk region. I'm 20 years old, and I've basically never seen life. I went there. I got this wound. It's over. I'm in pain now. I can't sleep properly, but I went, and I wasn't afraid. But while Pavlo's life was saved, his comrade Yevhen Yushchenko may have been less fortunate. The 25-year-old is listed as missing in action by Ukraine's interior ministry. And several comrades told Reuters they believe he was killed. He was Pavlo's best friend. Sometimes, I think that it would be better if I stayed there with him, fought and died if I had to die. Yevhen's sister is searching for information about what happened, one of thousands of Ukrainians who have no news of their relatives. I don't understand at all. Many say that he died. They share that he died or that he is in captivity. I am so sorry for our mother, that she has to go through this. I'm sorry for my brother, too. Now Pavlo is recovering in Odessa. He's constantly haunted by nightmares and debilitating leg pain. I was very scared of becoming a burden for my wife, for my child lying in a wheelchair. Frankly, I thought it would even be better if I stayed there. Despite everything, he says he has few regrets. If they offered me a second chance, I'd still go. For Pavlo, recovery means catching up on lost time with his baby daughter, while grappling with memories of friends who never made it home. I don't think about the future. I just live for today. And I don't even really live. I just exist. I just exist right now. I don't feel like a person. I don't experience joy. Nothing brings me joy except my child.

Thousands rallied outside President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Tel Aviv, urging him to reject a pardon request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces fraud charges. Demonstrators held signs demanding accountability and warned that approval could undermine justice in Israel.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Protests in Tel Aviv after Netanyahu seeks pardon in fraud cases

The Ukrainian delegation met with U.S. officials in Miami on Sunday ahead of scheduled talks between the U.S. and Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, later this week.

Miami

Rubio calls U.S.-Ukraine talks productive but says more work ahead

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submitted a formal pardon request in his long-running corruption cases to the Israeli president. Herzog says he will "sincerely consider the request."

Netanyahu asks president to grant him pardon from corruption charges

Two men and two women from the Paris region have been taken into custody in connection with the theft at the Louvre last month, prosecutors said.

Paris

Four more suspects arrested over Louvre jewelery heist

Entire areas of Sri Lanka's capital were flooded on Sunday after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.

Colombo

Sri Lanka reels from Cyclone Ditwah as death toll nears 200

Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Florida

Ukraine Invasion

Rubio and Witkoff to meet with Ukraine's negotiators in Florida

President Trump intensified his pressure campaign on Venezuela on Saturday. He posted that the airspace around the country is "closed in its entirety." It comes amid growing pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to step down.

Caracas

Trump declares Venezuela's airspace closed

Negotiators for Ukraine are headed to Florida for further peace talks with Trump administration officials. The visit comes amid new deadly air assaults across Ukraine.

Kyiv

Deadly Russian air assaults hit Ukraine amid peace talks

Approximately 24 million people across the U.S. are under winter storm alerts. Dave Malkoff and Andrew Kozak have the details on this holiday weekend's forecast and the impact.

Chicago

Major storm blasts Midwest, impacting holiday travel

Ukraine’s security services say that domestically made naval drones struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, involving vessels described as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine strikes Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea

From Rome to Berlin, from São Paulo to Istanbul: the demonstration in the Italian capital, led by Global Movement to Gaza, reflects a global protest for Gaza, with thousands of people united in solidarity and justice

Rome

Thunberg joins pro-Palestine march in Rome

US President Donald Trump has said the airspace above Venezuela is to be closed. With a US task force already in the Caribbean, land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers could soon begin.

US military threat fuels fear and uncertainty in Venezuela

More than 150 people have been killed as Cyclone Ditwah has been battering Sri Lanka with torrential rains that triggered flooding and landslides. Authorities declared a state of emergency.

Cyclone Ditwah pounds Sri Lanka with deadly force

Investigators in Hong Kong are gathering evidence at the site of the apartment block fire that killed at least 128 people. At least 150 are missing, and 11 people involved in the renovation of the complex have been arrested.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Hong Kong apartment fire survivors share how they escaped

United States President Donald Trump has said the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed “in its entirety”, as tensions between the countries escalate. There was no immediate response by Venezuela to Trump’s social media post on Saturday.

Trump says Venezuela airspace to be shut as tensions rise

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's historic Blue Mosque, officially known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as part of his trip to Turkey.

Istanbul

Pope Leo XIV visits Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Turkey trip

The Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard members will face first-degree murder charges for an attack that prompted President Donald Trump to declare he would freeze migration from "Third World Countries" to the U.S.

Washington

National Guard shooting suspect to face murder charges

President Trump announced Thursday that he would "permanently pause" immigration from "Third-World Countries." The declaration comes as the Trump administration takes aim at U.S. immigration policies in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump says he plans to end immigration from "Third-World Countries"

Europe's Airbus says it is ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely-used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States.

Leiden

Airbus issues major A320 recall, threatening holiday travel

Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies in an intensive search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, bringing the death toll to 128 with many more unaccounted for. Authorities arrested another eight people involved in the towers' renovation.

Hong Kong Island

More arrests made in Hong Kong as fire's death toll rises to 128

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's powerful chief of staff, a close ally of the president who has headed Ukraine's negotiation team at fraught U.S.-backed peace talks, quit on Friday (November 28), after anti-corruption agents searched his home.

Ukraine's top peace negotiator quits after raid by anti-graft police

At least thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria, Syrian state media reported, with Damascus accusing Israel of a "criminal attack" in a village where Israel said its troops came under fire during an operation to arrest militants.

Damascus

Middle East Conflict

Israel launches deadly raid on southern Syria, Syrian media reports

The Department of Homeland Security says the agency is reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration in wake of Wednesday's attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C.

Trump admin orders review of approved Biden-era asylum cases

Two Palestinian men were shot dead during an Israeli raid in Jenin on Thursday moments after appearing to surrender, prompting condemnations as footage of the incident sparked widespread outrage.

Jerusalem

Israel forces kill two Palestinians seen surrendering in West Bank

One of the U.S. National Guard members ambushed in Washington, D.C., has died, President Trump announced Thursday. CBS News' Kamal Afzali reports.

One National Guard member dies after D.C. shooting

U.S. President Donald Trump says Sarah Beckstrom, one of the National Guard members shot in Washington, has died and the other, Andrew Wolfe, is fighting for his life. The suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is in 'serious condition.'

Trump says one National Guardsman has died after Washington shooting

Video has emerged of two Palestinian men surrendering to the Israeli military with their hands up, before being shot dead in Jenin.

Two unarmed Palestinians killed in Jenin by Israeli military

Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe were wounded in a shooting that the FBI is investigating as ‘terrorism’.

National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, attack identified

The Russian president reiterated his maximalist demands over occupied areas of Ukraine, and insisted Moscow has no plans of slowing down its full-scale invasion or even negotiating with Kyiv.

Putin demands Kyiv withdraw from Eastern Ukraine

The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members led a team in the Afghanistan war and worked with U.S. and British forces, according to a former Afghan commando colleague. A DHS official says he was granted asylum earlier this year on humanitarian grounds.

Breakdown