April Huggett: Came to Deliver Aid, Stayed to Defend Ukraine. Part 4

After four years of war, what remains? For Canadian volunteer-turned-combat medic April Huggett, the answer is not pride, but gratitude — gratitude every time her soldiers return alive. The war has changed her, taken a part of her, and transformed Ukraine from a place she came to help into the home she refuses to abandon.

Today, April serves as a combat medic with the Alcatraz Battalion of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar."

In the 4th — and final — part of our conversation, April speaks about the weight of responsibility for her soldiers, the sacrifices of being separated from her own children, and the personal toll of life in wartime. She shares why “happiness is for later,” what gives her the strength to continue, and why, for her, defending Ukraine is also a fight for the future her children will inherit.

Gratitude, Not Pride

“Right now, I can't go out to the positions, and honestly, that sucks. I watch evacuation videos filmed by our guys who aren't even medics, doing the best they can. I see my friends being killed by drones, and I can't be there. That's hard.

Of course, I want to be proud of what I'm able to provide for them and everything I can do to help. But more than anything, I just want to be there with them.

At the same time, I have to understand that I'm useful in the role I'm doing now. I'm able to provide equipment at a scale that very few people can. That's my job now.

But if you ask me about my proudest moment, it wasn't bringing equipment. It was the day I walked up to my soldiers — back when I was still a volunteer — and said, "I'm one of you."

I'm happiest when I can bring my guys the things they need. Seeing their faces light up when they receive something that can truly be a lifeline — that means everything. Recently, I was able to provide them with an interceptor drone, and that felt incredible. It's already gone now.

But I'm not happy. Happiness is for later, maybe.

I'm tired, and the war has broken a part of me.

What I am is deeply grateful every time I see my soldiers return from a position. When I see that they're alive — even if they're not okay — that's what matters. Those are the happy moments. They're about them.”

Fighting for the Future

“I think war strips away everything until you're left with only the most basic parts of being human.

I eat to survive, not because I enjoy food. I get up every day because I'm motivated by the people around me.

But I'm not only doing this for them. I'm doing it for my children.

I've missed so much time with them. But beyond everything I could say about my soldiers, I truly believe that what we do here matters for my kids.

And then there are those 3 or 4 a.m. phone calls that wake me up. Just yesterday, I was talking to my daughter while she was playing on the swings back in Canada.

This fight is about protecting normal life in all of our countries.

Back in 2022, I watched a man on the other side of the world threaten my children with nuclear annihilation.

Yes, I'm missing moments like taking my kids to school or baking cookies with them. But what happens after they turn eighteen? What kind of world are we going to leave them?

I don't know whether it's still going to be a dumpster fire or not. But I want to be able to look them in the eyes and say that I tried. That I did everything I could to make the rest of their lives better.

That's what motivates me every day.

And my men — they're incredible. They deserve a chance. They deserve someone who will speak for them and help provide the things they need because they don't have those resources.

Thanks to my previous experience, my work in social media, and everything I did as a foundation director and volunteer before joining the military, I'm able to do that. It's much easier than starting from zero.

So, my motivation comes from many places. It's my children. It's my soldiers. It's my “Kholodnyi Yar.” It's being “Babtsya”.”

Why a Foreign Battalion Matters

“I'm really excited about the idea of a foreign battalion.

I've been advocating for it for a long time, and people are already writing to me. Just yesterday someone messaged me saying, 'I finished my interview. I'm really excited. Can I ask you a few questions about the brigade?'

That makes me proud.

Since 2022, I've heard so many stories from foreigners about the difficulties they faced while serving in different units. But I didn't experience those problems here.

I received my veteran ID and got my “green book”. In nineteen months, my pay was only delayed once, and only by a few days.

I'm honored to serve in a brigade that takes not only combat on the frontline seriously, but also all the paperwork, documentation, and the welfare of every single soldier.

Honestly, I'm amazed every day by how much people here care about one another.

Everyone is deeply committed to their own role.

That's one of the reasons why this brigade is so well known internationally and held in such high regard.

People here take their work seriously. They care deeply about what they do, and they care deeply about each other.”

My Home, My Mission

“I don't like thinking too much about the future because it's difficult.

I don't know if I'm going to live.

I live in a place where you can walk to the grocery store and be killed by an aerial bomb. That happened to my friends just last month.

I love this country.

More and more, I realize that this is my home.

I've spoken with my children many times. No matter where I am in the world, they'll always have a place with me. I want this war to end. I want them to finish high school because Canada has a very good education system. But they also know they'll always have a home with me.

My children support my decision to stay here and fight alongside the Ukrainian people.

This is my home.

I'm not going to abandon my home.

I don't know what the future will look like.

I think I'll stay in the military for as long as I can because one day I want to become an officer. That's my dream.

I don't know how long this war will last.

But I know I'll be here until my last breath.

I could leave now if I wanted to, but I never will.

As for life after the war — I don't know.

I don't like thinking about it because we're here, we're alive, and this is what matters right now.

What am I going to do later today?

I'll pick up packages, send packages, prepare for my next trip, and keep going.”

Learn more about the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" on the official website: https://www.93ombr.army

Text: Dmytro Tolkachov

Video: Dmytro Tolkachov, Oleksandr Bekker

Editing: Oleksandr Bekker