In the Fight for Ukraine

What must it be like to pack your backpack and go off to war? You can read about it here, in the story of an extraordinary woman: In her nearly two-year-long frontline diary, Diana Savita Wagner documents her experiences during the war in Ukraine. The “Letters from the Front,” published as a blog, were written in places such as trenches and earthen bunkers. In them, Wagner describes her personal impressions, the stresses of combat, and her motivations for staying on the ground despite the dangers.

A central theme is her exploration of why she remained there despite the constant danger to her life. She reflects on her motivations and the hope she draws from the prospect of a shared future with her husband. She sums up her hope for a shared future with her husband: “So I have to survive!” At the same time, she describes how she found her way in Ukraine and how she decided to move beyond merely conducting civilian evacuations to joining a military unit.

The book conveys the experiences of Savita Diana Wagner, who for nearly two years reported on the war from close up as both an active participant and an observer. Wagner depicts everyday life under extreme conditions—whether in trenches or earthen bunkers. The focus is not on strategic analysis, but on the subjective experience of fear, the struggle for survival, and the psychological strain of combat deployment. Time and again, she notes the things she has relearned: why she can suddenly fall asleep anywhere instantly is included, as is why AKM magazines are better than RPK magazines.

The book eschews filters and any sugarcoating. The accounts convey the harshness and immediacy of life on the front lines, which is rarely found in this form in conventional media reports. Savita Diana Wagner was killed in action on January 31, 2024, near Makiivka in Ukraine.

“Weine Deutsche im Ukraine-Krieg: The Frontline Diary of Savita Diana Wagner,” Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2026, 257 pages, 18 euros – HERE on Amazon or at well-stocked bookstores.