For one group of Ukrainian volunteers, the risk of handling live rockets under fire on the front lines definitely beats a nice, quiet retirement.
The Stepovi Vovky, or “Steppe Wolves,” is a unit not officially recognized by the Ukrainian Army-- but its members, who are all older than 60, are well known to the troops fighting off Russia’s invasion.
They’re often seen doing a job considered too risky for regular troops: collecting misfired missiles and hauling them off to be repaired and reused.
The Wolves get in fast, collect undetonated rockets, and get them back to a secret workshop located somewhere in the Zaporizhzhya region.
“We’re a volunteer unit and we survive only thanks to the support of the people of Ukraine,” the unit’s commander, Did, recently told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service.
“All our launchers are made by volunteers.”
Some of the Wolves tried to enlist in the Ukrainian Army but weren’t allowed to under current law, which forces soldiers to retire at age 60.
“I went to the military enlistment office, but they didn't even let me in,” said “Petsa,” one of the Wolves who specializes in driving and keeping vehicles running in adverse conditions. “They just said, ‘Wait, we’ll call you.’”
“Still waiting for that call,” he added.
“Petsa,” who is 67, said he wouldn’t be put off by official rules, adding he’s been assisting troops for years now, “practically all that time on the front line.”
He explained that keeping engines in shape is more than a semi-retirement hobby.
“Everything has to work so we can pack up in a minute or less and quickly leave the position. Our lives depend on that.”
In the nearby workshop, the Wolves work out, doing pushups and leg lifts when not taking rockets apart to diagnose what’s wrong with them.
“There was a missile misfire,” said another Wolf, “Dnipro,” as he worked on a recovered rocket recently. “So we need to take it apart, remove the warhead, remove the tail, unscrew it, pull out the ignition system, and replace it. Or replace the powder that ignites the missile so it will launch.”
A law that would allow older soldiers to officially serve is currently advancing through the Ukrainian parliament, a prospect that gives the Wolves encouragement. It could mean they would get access to real weapons, training, and resources, they say.
But in the meantime, they plan to keep up the fight with whatever tools and techniques they can muster.
As one fired a rocket toward a target on a recent day, he called out, “For Kharkiv, for the children! Fire!”
