On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, they were veterans trying to adjust to civilian life after years at war. They told Kyiv Post they were proud of their service – and ready to return if needed.
They did.
Now they are back in uniform as active-duty veterans, marking the fourth anniversary of the war on the firing line. As told to Kyiv Post, this is what brought them back, how the war evolved in their absence, and what it feels like to fight once more.
“To defend Ukraine and chop the Muscovites to pieces”
Anatoliy “Lytsar” (“Knight”) Musienko, currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), told Kyiv Post that his return to the ranks was “a return to the natural state as a defender.”
Before our interview, he heard that his comrades had come under shelling, and he was worried about whether they were alive. By the end of the conversation, he received good news – they were fine.
“As artists, we do not paint for recognition or to be loved and respected. An artist paints because he is an artist – otherwise he is no longer himself. But it is a pity that, like artists, we are mostly recognized posthumously,” Lytsar said.
In an interview last year, he told Kyiv Post he felt the civilian world saw soldiers “like a virus,” something to be rejected rather than embraced. Now, he says he no longer sees himself as a virus, but as immunity – fighting both external and internal infection.
“Everyone says that military personnel need to adapt to civilian life after returning, but this is not so. People should look at the world through our eyes. I don’t mean to see the horrors we saw, but to appreciate the reality of things and their meaning, to become truly ‘free.’”
When asked how his family reacted to his return to the Army, Lytsar says they understand “that the soul of an artist who doesn’t create dies, and the eyes of a tiger in a cage fade.”
Anatoliy admits that the war changed significantly during his absence, but says his main goal has remained constant – “to defend Ukraine and chop the Muscovites [a historical term used in Ukraine to refer to Russians] to pieces.”
“War changes every few weeks. What worked yesterday doesn’t work tomorrow. The truth of war is adapt or die,” he said.
Military command structure and strategy have also evolved, he added – forced, like technology, to adapt constantly to new wartime challenges
“Now it’s more like a fantasy movie, where people no longer shoot each other, but mechanisms hunt people. And people invent ways to fight them. But the main thing is the ability to constantly adapt and invent – to adapt and not stop fighting.”
This winter has felt especially harsh, but Anatoliy says that in war it is always necessary to adapt to changing conditions, including the weather.
“We were warmed by love for Ukraine,” he joked. “And also potbelly stoves, warm clothes, and training. Each season brings its own nuances to life and work. The cold has passed, the floods have begun, and we have to adapt to changing conditions again. And who knows what’s worse – the cold or so much water.”
Last year he shared his difficult experience of civilian life. Now he says the short break did not allow him to rest or improve his health.
“The body accumulates strength when needed. In war, you are in constant tension. Sometimes you need to step back and rest so as not to work to exhaustion,” Anatoliy said.
“But rest is a great luxury, because no one wants to come replace us. Apparently, this was one of the reasons for returning – because I can’t leave my own,” he adds.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Lytsar says his and his comrades’ spirits rise “when we eliminate another portion of the occupiers.”
“Of course, there are those who are honestly tired, and I understand them, because there are different roles in the Army and different difficulties. But I know for sure that support from people who care gives us strength. Although we are not here for that, it would be nice to feel it.”
Although his workload has become heavier since returning to service – both physically and emotionally – at the same time, it feels easier.
“Because you are where you need to be, because you are who you are,” Lytsar said.
“The mood right now is just to grit your teeth and do your job”
Dmytro “Ivich” Verbych helped defend Donetsk airport when Russian-backed separatists laid siege to it in 2014, and is now a fighter in the Signum unit. There is a certain irony in the fact that Dmytro – the author of Point of No Return, chronicling the 2014-2015 battles in Donbas – is heading back to the front for the third time.
“It happened in the summer of 2025. The motivation to return did not disappear. Although there were moral and psychological setbacks, the awareness of the situation did not disappear,” he told Kyiv Post.
Having lived as a civilian during the full-scale war, he says he realized that for him – and for people of his character – there were only two options: try to forget everything and leave the country, “which is very difficult, almost impossible,” or return to the Army and find fulfillment there.
“Because being a civilian is a kind of absolutely gray life, devoid of purpose, meaning, any real movement, fullness. Men who avoid service, delay it in any possible way, live in some kind of eternal postponement of life for later. This, in my opinion, is absolutely the wrong path.”
Dmytro says his return to the front came as no surprise to either his family or his comrades.
“Everyone is already used to what kind of person I am. That is why the reaction is absolutely calm. Some of the comrades were happy; some were like, ‘What? Again? Dmytro, maybe you should have saved yourself a little more.’ But in general, everyone reacted positively and supported me.”
After returning to service, the nature of his work changed. Now it is connected with unmanned aerial systems. Previously, he flew first-person view (FPV) drones.
“You need to study more, do more self-development,” he said.
Like Lytsar, Dmytro acknowledges that the war has changed dramatically and the situation is still evolving – primarily because of drones and the saturation of the sky with various means of destruction, especially FPV drones.
“This kill zone has become so large that 15 kilometers [9 miles] from the conventional line of combat contact you cannot feel protected, if there is radio horizon and if there is good weather,” he said.
“The enemy is hunting; there are many enemy vehicles in the sky. And those means of camouflage, those tactics that worked before, are no longer effective now. You constantly have to change something, think. It’s difficult. And for me, it was hard to get used to at first,” he added.
He says he did not need to get used to war itself, but he did need to integrate into a new team.
“Former merits and authority are great, but you have to be effective here and now, work – it’s not the time to relax.”
“You have to understand that while you were taking a break, people continued to fight, carried this burden, and rose through the ranks. And you come back and start, if not from scratch, then from a lower position than when you left. But you have to be ready for this when you make the decision to leave.”
Dmytro emphasizes that he is used to being effective and successful in war.
“Now the situation is somewhat different, because there are new means and new activities. There are some objective circumstances that do not allow me to develop as quickly as I would like. And I personally do not have the efficiency that I would like right now. And it is difficult. You just have to be patient and work for the future,” he said.
He does not miss civilian life at all and admits that, if he could, he would have shortened his time away from the front.
“I was a civilian for over a year. It was too much and unnecessary. But it was a great opportunity to regain my health.”
Now, back in uniform, he monitors his health carefully – taking vitamins and engaging in physical activity whenever possible.
“It’s very easy to lose health, but very difficult to regain it,” he adds.
Dmytro says he is not thinking about the future and does not expect the war to end soon.
“The mood right now is just to grit your teeth and do your job. And not to think about the future, not to make plans, not to hope that the war will end soon, that someone will help us.”
“You just accept everything as it is. You are here and now, and in the moment you do what you have to do as best you can. You surrender, I don’t know, to the will of God, to fate,” he said.
He advises the people around him not to pay attention to analysts or to statements made on the international stage.
“This is all bullshit that only shakes the psyche. Focus on your task, on what you can personally influence, do it as well as possible,” Dmytro said.
Last year, he told Kyiv Post that after the war he would like to settle in a cabin in the woods, have a dog, and smoke a pipe by the fireplace. For now, that vision remains unchanged.
“The only thing I can add is that I would definitely like to live abroad. At least half a year, maybe more, so that I don’t appear in Ukraine at all. This is very necessary.”