War in Ukraine

Lawyer turned soldier returns to frontline after drone grenade attack

Russia uses drones to fly over trenches and drop grenades which are intended to kill and injure those who come to the aid of victims

Devastation: the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Picture: Getty

As the group of 17 Ukrainian women and children travelled west to seek refuge in Ireland last week, a soldier recently injured in the war was heading east to the frontline in Bakhmut.

A lawyer by profession, he asked for security reasons to be identified by his military nickname: the advocate.

“When I was a lawyer, I advocated for justice from the Ukrainian state. But now that they have come into our country as invaders, ...