FROM odes to embattled military units to expressions of love for the motherland, Ukrainians are embracing tattoos amid the ongoing war with Russia.

At the Art Weapon festival, dozens chose to show their love for their nation by getting inked, with payments for the tattoos going straight to the military as donations.

The event took place at an abandoned Soviet-era factory yesterday, where droning electronica clashed with crunchy garage rock and the buzzing sound of tattoo needles.

A 20-year-old soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was getting inked for the first time.

His new tattoo is dedicated to Ukraine’s Azov regiment and its fighters – many of whom are under attack at a steel plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol, including two of his friends.

“It is very difficult for me, but I cannot imagine what they feel,” he said, as he prepared to go under the needle.

“They told me they will stand for Ukraine until they die.”

For 27-year-old actress and musician Marusia Ionova, her new tattoo – which simply says “Kyiv” – serves as a reminder of the time when she was forced to flee her home at the beginning of the war and the wave of emotions she has felt since.

“That is why I decided to get the name of my favourite city in the world.

“The level of emotions are so different… it is really hard to explain,” she said of her new-found connection with her country following the outbreak of the war.

Tattoo artist Zhenia said he is seeing a major uptick in requests for patriotic tattoos from customers, including many first-timers.

‘Intense emotion’

“The war changed them and they started getting tattoos. And their first tattoos are patriotic ones,” said the 27-year-old.

These include chest-sized Ukrainian tridents and more brazen slogans like “death to the enemy”.

The Russian invasion and subsequent war triggered an outpouring of Ukrainian patriotism, drawing a clear distinction between the lives they led before the conflict and the spirit and unity they have felt in its wake.

Since the war started, large swathes of the population have voluntarily offered their services to Ukraine’s war effort – from making Molotov cocktails to weaving camouflage nets and making donations en masse to the armed forces.

“It is a new feeling that came when the war started – it is an intense emotion,” said Anastasia, an 18-year-old economics student, while getting the Ukrainian trident tattooed on her lower back – a decision she made only yesterday.

“It is very important to me to have it.” – AFP, May 15, 2022.