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Alexis Anttila, an American woman fighting against the Russian invaders
My relatives worry when I'm in Ukraine, but dad said: go destroy the occupiers
(There are lots of photos at the link. Note that this article is machine translated.)
This appears to be her Twitter link:
My relatives worry when I'm in Ukraine, but dad said: go destroy the occupiers
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www.ukrinform.ua
(There are lots of photos at the link. Note that this article is machine translated.)
In New York, at the event of the volunteer organization "Together for Ukraine", he talked with a girl whom he had not seen before among the New York volunteers. Alexis Anttilla, she introduced herself. "What do you do?" - "I am a fighter." We laughed... All kinds of jokes have the right to exist, I thought. And then during the official part, she was really presented as a fighter fighting in Ukraine against the Russian invaders. After the event, she gave a short interview to Ukrinform.
I CAME TO UKRAINE AT THE INVITATION OF PRESIDENT ZELENSKY
- Alexis, you have a rather unusual surname, how is it pronounced correctly?
– Anttila... This is a Finnish surname... Antilla in Finnish, and Entila in American.
- Can you tell a little about yourself? Where were you born? How old are you?
- Of course. I was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1994. I am 28 years old. I am currently an undergraduate student at Columbia University, studying biology.
- What do you do in Ukraine?
- I came to Ukraine as a foreign fighter after President Zelensky called: if you are a friend of Ukraine, and we need foreign fighters, come and help us. I booked a ticket at the end of February, and at the beginning of March I came to Ukraine to fight.
- Did you undergo any military training before leaving for Ukraine?
- She did not undergo any military training in the USA. But since I grew up in Texas, I have a certain training in terms of handling weapons: we had a lot of them in our family, on weekends we went to shooting ranges or to the range.
So I knew how to use assault rifles well, even though I had no formal military training. I received it when I came to Kyiv.
- Could you tell me in which unit you served in Ukraine?
- Yes, at the beginning of March, I joined "Azov" in Kyiv and fought with him near Brovary. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at pronouncing Ukrainian cities... I fought there, and then I met Vitaly Zyugovich. This is one of the patients who was recently operated on with the support of "Together for Ukraine"... We were traveling together on a reconnaissance mission where there was supposed to be a battle with the Russians, and our car blew up on an anti-tank mine.
After that, we came to the US for treatment and rehabilitation.
I have already been to Ukraine three times since the beginning of the war, and in a week I am going again to fight for the fourth time.
I was with Azov, Pravy Sektor, Karpatska Sich...
I WILL BE IN BAHMUT IN A FEW DAYS
- Are you going to return to Ukraine this year?
- Yes, I will fly to Poland on December 24.
- Where exactly in Ukraine will you go?
- In Bakhmut.
- Really? A very hot place…
- Exactly...
- And what are you going to do there?
- I will be a foreign fighter of "Azov".
- What weapon do you currently own?
- I am familiar with the Kalashnikov assault rifle, I know how to use it. I know that M4 is such an American-style assault rifle. I can shoot Javelin, NLAW, Carl Gustaf, Matador missiles - all anti-tank weapons.
- How many targets did you hit?
- In fact, the first few times I was in Ukraine, I was first a medic, then served as an assistant gunner. That is, I helped reload the Carl Gustaf grenade launcher.
So I personally never hit the targets, but helped those who shot at them.
But this time I will be the shooter myself. So I hope that when I arrive, I will be able to hit the targets in person.
- Does the unit in which you serve consist only of foreigners?
- There are some foreigners, but we fight together with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with "Azov" and "Carpathian Sich"... That is, we are always together with the Ukrainian military.
It is always a mixture of Ukrainian and foreign forces.
- What is your rank?
- In Ukraine, my rank is a soldier. Or a doctor...
- Do you have a military uniform?
- IS...
- Ukrainian?
- This is the uniform of the US Army. I took her here at the US Army depot. But I have a Ukrainian military winter jacket that was given to me by "Azov".
THIS IS A HUGE CALLING FOR ME, I HAVE TO CONTINUE - COME BACK AND FIGHT
- How does your family feel about it?
- She is in Texas, and I must admit that my relatives are very worried every time I go to Ukraine. But they also know that I am fighting for a great cause, for freedom. And this is the most important thing.
And since I am an American of Finnish origin, my father is from Finland, I know that for a long time the Finns were traumatized and frightened by the Soviet Union and the Russians.
Therefore, when I decided to go to Ukraine, my father said: "This is wonderful. Go kill the Russian invaders."
He was only in favor.
But mom is horrified. She keeps persuading me to stay here, but this is a huge calling for me and I feel like I have to go on - come back and fight.
- When you talk about family, do you mean parents, do you also have brothers, sisters, boyfriend or husband?
- I have two younger brothers, mother and father. There is no one else.
I am not married, so I go there as a "lone fighter". I do what I can...
DESTROY AS MANY OCCUPIERS AS NECESSARY TO WIN THE WAR
- How many invaders are you going to destroy?
- As much as I can... As much as it takes to win the war.
- Are you afraid of injury?
- No. I was already wounded in Brovary. We blew up on an anti-tank mine, as I already said. Shards and glass hit me in the face.
It was March 20, 2022. And I also had a leg injury. She was treated in Ukraine, and then went to the USA again for treatment.
So I already had an injury. And she repeatedly came under fire, was on the front line for four months, from March to July. Therefore, the fear of being injured... I lost this fear. He is gone.
- Are you fully recovered?
- Completely. Although I will admit that I had a pretty bad concussion after that explosion, so I still get headaches sometimes, but nothing that would prevent me from going to war again.
- Have you never been to Bakhmut or Donetsk region in general?
- Never. The closest I've been to is a town called Virnopillya near Barvinkovo and Izyum, right outside the city... So there, near Izyum, we fought in the summer before the counteroffensive.
I AM THE ONLY WOMAN IN MY UNIT
- Are there other women and girls in your unit?
- No, I'm the only one.
- The only one?
- Yes, the only one.
In fact, one Ukrainian commander told me and my platoon commander: no women, you know, we don't send women into the trenches.
But the platoon commander insisted: she goes with us. Convinced that I am the same fighter as any man. And I was allowed to climb into the trenches and fight.
- You have been in the trenches for a long time - without water, without a shower...
- I'm used to it. I spent some time in the trenches in Virnopil. And she didn't take a shower for weeks, she didn't have fresh water. I have a water filter bottle... I can drink - it allows me to drink from any source, whether it's from the ground or from the tap, wherever. I carry it with me.
We use baby wipes instead of shower. We simply take children's wet wipes, which are used to wipe babies, and wipe ourselves. This is how we shower.
- How do the local residents perceive you? Probably had to communicate with them?
- Very warm... Always thank you. One grandmother in a store in Brovary burst into tears. She started giving me food, meat, lard... But I'm a vegetarian. She brought me all the vegetarian food.
- How do you eat in the army without meat?
- I do not eat meat or fish, but I use dairy products. Well, this is taken into account when the food is given out.
- Who are you according to your horoscope?
- Leo. She was born on July 25.
I KNOW A FEW UKRAINIAN WORDS, BUT THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING MILITARY WORDS ARE ALWAYS NEARBY
- What language do you use to communicate with your comrades in the platoon ?
- We speak English, because otherwise we would not be able to communicate. As a rule, we have a translator with us, a person who knows English and Ukrainian and can communicate both with us and with Ukrainians, because it is very important to coordinate our actions.
For example, a drone is flying above us... Is it our drone? Is it Russian? A helicopter is above us... Is it our helicopter? Is it hostile?
Such things are very important to know. That is why we have a communicator who can translate for our group and Ukrainians.
- But some commands must be perceived quickly. I think you understand words like "fire!", "shot!"...
- So. In fact, the boys taught me some words, some of them in Russian, some in Ukrainian, because they speak both languages.
So I know words like "walk", "run", "right", "left"... I know some basic phrases that enable me to communicate with people around me who don't speak English. I also know the names of some parts of the body, because at one time I was a doctor. But I usually fight together with English-speaking Ukrainians, because it is important for us to communicate, understand and act very quickly.
This appears to be her Twitter link:
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