A serviceman of the 148th Separate Artillery Zhytomyr Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sits near shells as he and a soldier await command to fire a M777 Howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)

Olga Conover of Palm Bay, Fla., walks down the bridge at sunset carrying her merged American-Ukraine flag near the end of a march marking the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, late Thursday afternoon, February 23, 2022, in Melbourne, Fla. A small but passionate group of Ukraine supporters took the Melbourne Causeway to show their support, organized by the Ukrainian Space Coast group. (Photo by Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP Photo)

Young recruits of the 72nd Chorni Zaporozhtsi Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attend an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine on April 5, 2025. Ukraine's Defence Ministry launched a recruitment drive for young people, 18- to 24-year-olds, to serve in the military for a year for the equivalent of about $24,000 and hefty bonuses. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

“Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in Ukraine and Southern Russia. They inhabited sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins, and played an important role in the historical development of both Ukraine and Russia”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Кубанский казачий хор (Kuban Cossack chorus) - Розпрягайте, хлопцi, коней (Unharness The Horses, Guys!) – Ukrainian

A cat meows in it's owner's bag after fleeing from Kiev in Ukraine to Romania, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, March 10, 2022. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Ukrainian service man Oleksandr of 24th brigade stands guard at his position in the trenches at the frontline, amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine near Niu York, Donetsk region, Ukraine on April 4, 2023. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine on June 16, 2025. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Ukrainian Serviceman Oleksii Hodzenko, aka Godzilla, was a civilian journalist. His father, Sergeant chief Dmytro "Godzilla" Godzenko was killed on March 31, 2016 at 6 a.m. in a mortar attack near the village of Zaitsevo near Horlivka in the Donetsk region. Since then Godzilla "junior" has joined the army, at a frontline position held by Ukraine's 503rd Detached Marine Battalion on February 7, 2022 near Verkhnotoretske, Ukraine. Regional tensions remain high as Russia continues to amass soldiers and military equipment along its border with Ukraine, where large swaths of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are held by Russian-backed separatists. Russia has also moved roughly 30,000 troops into Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north. American and European officials say they do not whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a decision to invade Ukraine, but have issued a series of warnings about the country's assertive military posture. (Photo by Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images)