12 Survival Lessons from Ukraine: “Nothing Provides as Much Valuable Information as Real World Situations”
June 12, 2015 
Apocalypse
June 12, 2015
The war in Ukraine is a tragic event but it’s one that we can all learn from. Nothing provides as much valuable information as real world situations where ordinary people are forced to deal with extraordinary events. At the end of the day, the war in Ukraine gives us plenty of examples of what works and what doesn’t, and while personal experience is important, the wise person learns from other people’s mistakes so as to not repeat them himself.
There are several articles explaining what people are going through in eastern Ukraine right now. This article over at dailymail provides a good visual image of what people are going through. There’s also a thread in survivalist boards where a Dunbass resident that goes by the name of George1980 has been posting, sharing his experiences. I highly recommend reading it if you have the time.
Using this information, here are twelve important lessons based what has happened so far in Ukraine:
1) Artillery & infantry beats survivalist hero fantasies. Every. Single. Time.
Maybe the most obvious lesson to be learned is how miserably all these fantasies about forming survival groups, living in a retreat while fighting against impossible odds would ultimately fail. There’s simply no surviving against an occupation force when facing them as an individual or small group. Houses, towns and even entire cities can eventually get surrounded and overpowered. A single house or compound represents a laughable resistance to organized armed forces, let alone ones with artillery and air support at their disposal. Once shooting at your position is no longer fun, they’ll just blow you up. It’s as simple as that.
2) Cover the basics. Food, water, shelter and medicines.
In various parts of eastern Ukraine, People are suffering the lack of water, electricity and food shortages. You need to store food, food that requires no refrigeration and little or no cooking. You need water, not just a water filter (which you should have as well) but actual jugs of water. For true emergencies and survival situations, just like you can’t have too much food you can’t have too much water. Have a well, have a river, if nothing else keep an eye out for large barrels on sale and keep some full of water. Even the jugs for carrying water become valuable. Have a good supply of medicines: ibuprofen, vomit and diarrhea medicine, liquid ibuprofen for children, bandages, diapers, formula and antibiotics. Antibiotics are the difference between life and death when you need them. Have lanterns, flashlights and lots of batteries. Get and emergency crank radio. Get a solar charger for your phone and batteries. Have alternative means of cooking and heating. A wood burning stove may do the trick, but make sure you always keep extra wood stored for emergencies. Maybe you’re lucky enough to still have power, if so an electric burner can be put to good use then, saving other fuels for when power goes out. Have extra fuel in storage for your vehicle, enough to make it to your potential bug out location in case you have to leave in a hurry. Have a tent and sleeping bags. These can be used not only for sleeping in tents, but also if you happen to find yourself in a refugee camp during winter or in an unfurnished flat after evacuation or if you’re staying with friends or family.
In a shelled city, underground is the only safe place to be, to some extent at least. An actual bunker would be ideal, but people try finding shelter anywhere underground. In buildings, windows and doors are covered with sandbags and people sleep in the interior room away from exterior walls and windows. Windows never survive shelling. The broken glass makes it impossible to stay warm in winter. Plastic sheeting can sometimes be used to close openings and still allow light in, but this is far from an ideal solution and he loss of heat is substantial.
3) Don’t get involved.
From a survival perspective, the best way to go about conflicts that can develop into violent clashes is to not get involved in the first place. Avoid going to protests and marches. This is especially true in cases such as the one of Ukraine, where people are seen on one side or the other during protests and clashes, often filmed. Something as simple as a rival remembering your face from the rallies can land you in jail or worse. In this kind of situation, it’s even neighbors, former friends and coworkers that may remember your political affiliation. They may end up mentioning your name to the new authorities and they will come after you.
4) Attitude, clothes, and gear can get you killed or arrested.
Here is where the gray man approach comes into play. Be as neutral as possible not only regarding your actions and behavior, but also when it comes to insignias, clothes, and gear. Even beards or unusual or characteristic hair styles can get you in trouble. According to George1980 “There was very unpleasant situation on the Ukrainian check-point, when one soldier wanted to arrest me as separatist)) Fortunately, my wife and daughters were with me and this soldier did not stopped me. Problem was that I have a beard and, may be, my face was very “suspicious” ))) Soldier told me that)”.
Checkpoints in Ukraine are there for a reason: finding enemies. Having a weapon can get you into trouble, but also things such as maps, GPS, political propaganda, radios, this can all be consider espionage material. Adventurers traveling around the world have often mentioned how they get arrested in war zones because of their cameras and laptops. You’re not local, you have electronics capable of being used for communication, then you’re a suspect until proven otherwise. Lots of people have GPS, radios and maps in their Bug Out Bags. Just make sure to be smart about it and understand that in some cases, when dealing with factions fighting over power, it can get you in trouble and its better to get rid of some of it before reaching a checkpoint.