A Ukrainian soldier fighting Russia's assault in the east of the country found some time this week to return, briefly, to his day job.
An image that circulated on social media on Friday shows Fedir Shandor, a professor at Uzhhorod National University, in full army fatigues with his assault rifle on his lap, giving his students a lecture on the somewhat incongruous subject of tourism.
“Well, lectures to students are sacred, they can not be missed,” the university said in a statement, adding that the professor enlisted on the first day of the war.
“If there are sounds of shelling somewhere in the background, they do not affect the lecture,” Shandor said in the university statement.
“The sound is like a tractor driving nearby. I always give lectures near the dugout. Just now there was a shelling, I went to the dugout and continued the lecture.”
He has lectures at 8 a.m. every Monday and Tuesday and said that so far he hasn't missed one. His commanding officers agreed he could rotate on combat duty overnight so he's available for online classes in the morning.
The photo of Shandor added to the many examples of how Ukraine's war effort is bolstered by ordinary men and women, including many professionals who swapped livelihoods and careers for military drills and live combat.
Ukraine has had some form of military conscription since 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula as it began hostilities in the eastern Donbas region.
All men aged 18 to 60 who are able to fight were banned from leaving the country when Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
Russia continues its offensive in eastern Ukraine, where officials have said civilian centers are still the target of strikes.
And for Shandor, there is a principle at stake.
"We are fighting for an educated nation. If I don’t give lectures, it will be a pity," he said. "Then why did I go to war in the first place?"
