Ukrainian farmer near front says freedom is worth defending

Ukrainian farmer Viktor Hordiienko, who works near the front line, says freedom is the most valuable thing in life, LSM reported in an interview with the Latvian Radio podcast Drošinātājs.

Hordiienko, who also heads the Farmers’ Association of the Kherson region, said he and his father had taken up rifles to defend their land. Many other farmers in the area had done the same, he said.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hordiienko studied logistics in China and regularly travelled to Geneva and France, coordinating grain exports by ship around the world. He now faces what he described as occupying forces’ drones while fighting to keep his farm operating near the front line.

He said that when the war began, he and many of his friends and business partners abandoned their previous work. Some joined the army, while others went to work in the fields or helped defend their land, shoot down drones and clear mines.

Hordiienko said he and his father had cleared mines from about 6,000 hectares of land and removed approximately 5,000 anti-tank mines. At first, they transported the mines by car, but later used Kamaz trucks.

“The most valuable thing in life is freedom,” Hordiienko said, adding that people who have not experienced occupation or war can find it difficult to understand its importance.