I went to public school in Britain but now I’m back in Ukraine fighting the Russians alongside my dad
A FORMER public school girl has gone back to her native Ukraine to fight Russian invaders alongside her dad.
As millions fled the nation, Anna Reznik, 25, returned to hometown Kharkiv — a long-time target of Vladimir Putin’s thugs.
Chris EadesFormer public school girl Anna Reznik, 25, has returned to her hometown of Kharkiv to fight the Russians alongside her father[/caption]
She joined the city’s 127th Brigade, in which her dad, Ihor, 49, is a commander, and learned how to handle assault rifles and a pistol.
We met them in an underground bunker outside the bomb-blitzed northern city.
Their frontline positions — routinely shelled by kamikaze drones — are a few hundred yards from the Russian frontier.
Anna, who spent two years as a boarder at Lancing College in West Sussex, graduating in 2017, said: “It was scary to come back, but once I’d decided I didn’t feel fear any more.
“As soon as I got here, I realised this was where I had to be.
“This is such a historic time for my country and it was happening in my home town.”
Anna was studying for a degree at The American University of Paris when Russia invaded 13 months ago.
Her mum and three siblings left Ukraine to join friends in southern France while she and her dad, a customs official, signed up to fight.
Chris EadesAnna spent two years as a boarder at Lancing College in West Sussex[/caption]
Chris EadesAnna with her father Ihor in a bunker close to the Russian lines in the Kharkiv area[/caption]
Anna, who has survived a Russian tank assault, said: “Some people think I’m crazy.
“My mother was very against it.”
Brigade photographer Anna, who took part in Ukraine’s Kharkiv counter-offensive last autumn when Russian forces fled, added: “At times we were on the zero-line, in a field with nowhere to hide.
“The worst times were when we were in the city getting shelled every day.
“We could hear the rockets screaming in as we ran into the bunkers.”
Army rules prevent Anna serving directly under her father, but both are in the 249th Battalion.
Chris EadesAnna is the photographer for the Ukrainian 127th Brigade and has so far survived Russian tank assaults[/caption]
He said: “I’m really proud of her.
“You try not to think about bad things that can happen, but sometimes you can’t help it.
“Whenever there are incoming strikes, I message to check she’s OK, or she messages me.”
Additional reporting: OLEKSII KULYK