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No one wants to do Major Serhiy Laziuk’s job. He travels from house to house in Lviv, western Ukraine, bringing families news of their loved ones at the front who are killed or missing in action. ‘I tell them I have a sealed letter, that I must deliver by hand,’ he says. Then he arrives at the door to break the news. Serhiy has delivered hundreds of notifications, often three or four a day. ‘You never know how people will react. Some stay calm, some become hysterical. Some blame me for the death of their son…’

Small wonder that Ukraine is in a military recruitment crisis, with many men of fighting age asking for exceptions, or hiding in their houses. ‘Mykola’ hasn’t been outside for a year and a half for fear of the draft. He and his wife sent their teenage son out of Ukraine in 2022 at the start of the full scale invasion. Of course they want Ukraine to win the war, they say. But the price of sacrificing father or son is too high. ‘Mykola’ has even cut an opening in his fence so he can watch out for patrols picking up men from the streets.

Assignment, the War Behind the War is presented by Richard Pendry and produced by Monica Whitlock. Dmytro Horyevoy is the producer in Ukraine and Neil Churchill mixed the programme.

The Assignment series editor is Penny Murphy.

(Image: Major Serhiy Laziuk Credit: Richard Pendry/Â鶹Éç)