A Swiss Soldier In Ukraine by Jona Neidhart

A Swiss Soldier In Ukraine by Jona Neidhart is a must-read. It is a £1 as an e-book on amazon and it’s not long either at around 100 pages. Neidhart wrote in the first few pages of his book: “As a believing Christian, I regard it as my duty to defend and protect the innocent and the suffering – just as it is currently needed in Ukraine where russians commit literal genocide.” I will share a few more quotes from him.

He is a very religious person and he talks about his faith in a non-preachy way. He also shared details about his family and that is quite a story. As a foreign volunteer he was at the Yavoriv military base when it was attacked in March 2022. I remember that attack, it was a tragedy which could have been avoided. He talks in his book about Ukraine with its positives and negatives. Read the book if you can.

Memorable quotes:
“Studying and working became a burden and I could not understand how anyone could continue living a normal life here in Europe while so many innocent people were getting killed, tortured, raped and chased away from their own homeland right in front of our nose.”

“You could literally smell the war in the air, but people were still smiling and joking with each other although at this beginning stage of the war it looked like russia would overthrow Ukraine.”

“When I had to sign the contract, I felt again the weight of my decision to go against Switzerland’s binding Law of Neutrality… I would most likely have to go to prison upon my return to Switzerland.”

“the plan would have been… to help the Ukrainian forces in Kyiv, but the russians got pushed out of Kyiv sooner than expected, so Khaskiv was chosen as the next place…”

“I grew really close with our Ukrainian neighbours in Pechenihy who gave us food, who made our laundry and who allowed us to use their sauna. I am still in touch with them to this day!”

“Going to prison upon my return to Switzerland is a price I gladly pay for the struggle of freedom and independence which does not only concern Ukraine but ALL of the Free World.”

On 14 June of this year Neidhart voluntarily surrendered to the Swiss police. It was his way of drawing attention to Ukraine during the Peace Summit in Switzerland, which began on June 15. He slammed Switzerland’s government for the extremely limited aid provided to Ukraine. According to Swiss law, Neidhart faces up to three years in prison for serving in a foreign army. He is the only Swiss who publicly declared his service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A dozen Swiss volunteers are fighting on the side of Ukraine.