Somehow in September 2014, I watched a tank battle from the top of the hill in Mariupol. Then, on September 5, 2014 - the day when the first ceasefire agreement was signed - I decided to drive through this battlefield. Around were charred fragments of tanks and armored personnel carriers. And dozens of dead soldiers, whose bodies resembled plaster casts of dead Pompeians, writes the international correspondent The Daily Signal, a former US Air Force pilot and veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Nolan Peterson.

Since the first months of the war in the Donbass, Ukrainians have replenished the ranks of both the regular army and volunteer detachments that managed to restrain the offensive of the Russian army and separatists.

At the same time, no one needed to be persuaded to go to war - the volunteers went to the Donbass massively and consciously, realizing that their homeland was in danger. In fact, it was not the army, but the Ukrainian society, that reflected the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

And now, three years after the outbreak of the war and two years after the signing of the Minsk Agreements, Ukrainian soldiers are still dying in trenches, artillery and mortar shelling continues. It seems that this war has no end. Firefight is conducted from trenches and fortifications. This is a battle in which soldiers almost never see who they are shooting at.

This is the most horrendous type of combat that I have not encountered, even when I myself served in the Air Force special operations troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The signing of the ceasefire in 2015 was nothing more than a farce. Nevertheless, this war strengthened Ukraine - its citizens, its soldiers, and proved that the country is ready to fight for its freedom.

In 2014 the Ukrainian army was almost unarmed. For 25 years the corrupt government, subordinated to Moscow, literally destroyed the army.

But over the past three years, Ukraine has reformed its troops into the army. "It's like building a boat when you're already at sea," said Luke Koffi, Director of the Heritage Center's Foreign Policy Center.

Ukraine now has more than 2,800 tanks and 625 missile systems. This is more than in the armed forces of France and Germany. But the bulk of this arsenal dates back to the times of the "cold war". Many Kalashnikov assault rifles used by Ukrainian troops were issued in the 1960s and 1970s.

For the modernization of the army and the transition to NATO standards by 2020 (this is now recorded in the Military Doctrine of Ukraine), Kiev is rebuilding its entire military-industrial complex. But, in my opinion, the reform of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine is conducted in the wrong way.

For example, even after three years of war on the front line, there are still no units of mobile army surgical help. Sometimes the wounded soldiers are compelled to travel to the nearest hospital on their own to get medical help.

Until now, the Ukrainian troops largely depend on non-governmental and volunteer organizations delivering to the advanced personal protective equipment, first aid kits, bulletproof vests, uniforms, food and clean water.

Many soldiers still in old fashion are using paper Soviet military maps. Although some enterprising Ukrainian students have already created applications for tablets that can be used to adjust artillery fire.

Soldiers are forced to buy their own medicines and provide themselves with electricity, since the government has not given them generators.

That is, corruption from within destroys the military-industrial complex of the country. Ukraine creates weapons for export, but can not meet the basic needs of the military in the field.

In 2016, the Government of Ukraine allocated about $ 500 million to repair, modernize and manufacture new weapons. However, in the State Concern "Ukroboronprom" they stated that they received only a third of this sum.

Despite the lack of money, at present the Ukrainian army fights even better than the US Armed Forces.

I had the opportunity to observe joint Ukrainian-American exercises at the Yavorovsky military training ground. And the impression was created that these Ukrainian soldiers should teach Americans to fight, and not vice versa. This is the Ukrainian army has many years of experience in conducting a hybrid war with Russia - the reflection of cyberattacks and targeted propaganda. Allies of Ukraine should learn from her to understand how the war with Russia will be going on.

After a protracted conflict in the Donbas, in which more than 10,000 Ukrainians died, fighting spirit is not broken. Every time I visit the front line, I ask the Ukrainian soldiers what they are fighting for. And their answers did not change. They are fighting for the freedom of their country. They believe that if they leave their positions and go home, Russia will seize their home.

Because of the war, Ukrainian society became militarized. But in 2014, such a massive patriotic rise saved Ukraine from a catastrophe. Ukrainians have the will to fight. But they need help.

To date, the US has provided Ukraine with some of the technologies that have proved useful on the battlefield. The states also equipped the military with anti-missile radars. However, they are not used to protect civilian areas such as Maryinka and Avdeevka. These cities are often subjected to rocket and artillery bombardment.

One of the military officials told me: "These anti-missile systems, although not lethal, but they are considered weapons. We do not place them in residential areas so as not to attract enemy fire and not to jeopardize the safety of civilians ".

Meanwhile, Washington has been discussing for several years whether the United States should send lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. In my opinion, this would be a largely symbolic gesture that would remind Moscow that the US is ready to defend Ukraine from aggression.

In addition, the Ukrainian troops still need such necessary things as bulletproof vests, night vision sights, first-aid kits.

And before I finish the article, one small story. In June 2015 in Peski I became friends with one wonderful 19-year-old soldier - Daniil Kasyanenko.

He was afraid that the war had destroyed his soul, and confessed to me that he had seen so many terrible things that he could never be a happy person. Two months later, Daniel died from mortar fire, fighting in the east of Ukraine.

Recently I sent an email to my mother Daniela Marina, in which I wrote that I returned to Washington to tell people about this war, about what my son was killed for. And she answered me: "Thank you.". The whole world must learn the truth about the war in Ukraine. You are doing everything possible so that our boys will no longer die. ".

Translation of HB.