Ukrainian Soldier Oleksandr Chuhan does not intend to give up his veganism while fighting the invading Russian troops. A 37-year-old drama teacher who joined the army the day after Moscow attacked Ukraine on February 24, maintains a strictly plant-based diet while serving at the forefront.
“Initially, it was very complicated,” Chuhan, who is fighting in the southern part of Mykolaiv, told AFP. “People said they wouldn’t put up with me” because there was no special menu, he said in a video call from the barracks with his rifle on his shoulder. However, the soldier firmly determined that his diet would not prevent him from serving his country. He found a network of activists on the internet to help vegan soldiers. “I wrote to them, and in April the first package arrived miraculously,” Zhuhan said. “Pate and vegan sausages, hummus, soy milk … and all of this was free,” he said happily.
“Delivery under the bomb”
Chuhan appreciates Tamara Human for a nutritious diet. The former top model leads Kieu’s “Every Animal” Foundation and brings together about 100 people to promote veganism. This way of life is strictly a combination of a vegan diet, refusal to consume animal-derived clothing and cosmetics, or their exploitation.
Human organizations help about 200 vegan soldiers reconcile their beliefs while serving the country. “We also deliver under the bomb,” she told AFP, and she prepared bulgur and dumplings for civilians with two other volunteers. Her 13th-floor apartment in the Lusanifka district of her residence has become an amazing logistics center for the movement.
Humans have long been involved in animal protection, and the dog Misha is flat and holds the bridle. Even a beige rat rescued from the lab will be willing to bite an unquestioned finger that is part of the flesh. Economically patriotic here, most of the food used by the human team comes from Ukraine. It mainly comes from the most easily found western city of Lviv. “The package we send allows soldiers to replenish what they receive from the army for a couple of weeks and have a balanced diet,” she said. She sees no contradiction between veganism and the head-on battle. “I also wanted to kill the Russians, but I don’t know how to use the weapons, so it’s more convenient here,” she said. — AFP
