Too old for combat, some Ukrainians in their mid-60s have formed the volunteer unit "Steppe Wolves." DW meets the men who fire repaired rockets back at Russian forces, close to the front line in southern Ukraine.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

A volunteer group in Ukraine, known as the Step Wolves, is composed of retired individuals, many of whom are over the official combat age. Led by a commander called Deed, the group retrieves and repairs unexploded Ukrainian rockets from the battlefield—a task considered too dangerous for regular soldiers.

These volunteers, some with prior military experience and others without, work closely with the military to target Russian positions. Their operations are risky, often taking place within 15 kilometers of Russian forces, and require quick action to avoid retaliation. Members like Serhii, who lost his son in combat, are motivated by personal loss and a desire to contribute to Ukraine's defense.

Retired Ukrainians in their 60s help fill frontline gaps

At first glance, this could be any military unit anywhere in the world. But these men are not in the army. They are over the official combat age limit. And yet they are determined to play a part in defending Ukraine. Why isn't my willingness to fight wanted? Some are dragged in by force, they are caught and resist, then run off. This is their commander. His codename is Deed, Ukrainian for grandpa. He fought the Russians a decade ago, when they first invaded parts of eastern Ukraine and Crimea. I left to fight in May 2014, I came back after I was badly wounded. I was lucky, you can see, I still have both legs. They wanted to amputate both. I was lucky I ended up in Estonia, I had many surgeries there. Deed was an economist turned winemaker, but his vineyard less than 50 kilometers from here is now occupied by Russians, his home destroyed. Deed is too old to legally return to combat, so he set up a volunteer group called Step Wolves. Many have military experience, some do not. They retrieve unexploded Ukrainian rockets from the battlefield and repair them, a task deemed so dangerous, regular soldiers aren't allowed to do it. The sappers tell us there's something there, knowing we'll pick it up and repair it, while they have orders to destroy it. So we go and retrieve it, like what our colleagues brought us here. Once they've fixed what they've found, they fire them at the Russians. There is no contact, something didn't work, we don't know what. We remove that part and we pull out the detonator. The reason is that the electrical part didn't work. These are old men in a young man's game. Physical fitness could be life-saving. It's time. The military, who they work closely with, just send them the coordinates for today's target. A Russian fibre-optic drone unit. We are on our way with Dieter and his crew to their position, where they're going to fire their rockets, somewhere south of Saparijan. It's quite a risky mission, because they have to be very quick, fire the rockets and remove themselves from the scene, because the Russians could strike back immediately. The location will be less than 15 kilometres from Russian positions. Icaro's job now is to locate the target and guide the gunners in the right direction. Drones are a constant threat here, so Icaro keeps his shotgun ready. Are we firing from one tube or from three? We load only the middle one. Now they have to move as fast as they can. We hit them. The last rocket hit. The guy giving us orders says the hit was a hundred percent. Serhii, who joined the unit a year ago, says he's grateful to be among like-minded people who want to make a difference. He became part of the Wolves after his son was killed fighting in Bahmut. I'd like to ride on a rocket, to have it launched at the enemy, to aim it and to press the button. What would you write on it, I ask him? My son's name. This is for him.

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Retired Ukrainians in their 60s help fill frontline gaps

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Ukraine Invasion