Members of the Ukrainian military relax in a makeshift sauna built by members of the brigade in an underground bunker while on a day off from being stationed in Bakhmut at a position on the outskirts of Donetsk on December 14, 2022.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
An Estonian filmmaker sent Ukrainian soldiers saunas to the front lines, the BBC reported.
The saunas are camouflaged and come equipped with showers and washing machines.
A Ukrainian commander told the BBC he’s grateful for the saunas after grueling days in the trenches.
Ukrainian soldiers are using camouflaged mobile saunas on the front line to bathe and disinfect after weeks in the trenches, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The saunas have been crowdfunded and sent to Ukraine by Imar Raag, an Estonian filmmaker and humanitarian who visits Ukraine often, the outlet reported.
They are camouflaged to protect Ukrainians from Russian fire and also come with showers and washing machines so that soldiers can clean their military uniforms after weeks in the trenches.
An unnamed Ukrainian commander on the front line told the BBC: “When you stay in position for three days, three nights, in the trenches, under the rain, in the mud, in the wet, then you come back and you have hot sauna, clean warm water, where you can wash yourself, where you can wash your clothes — It is special, it is something out of this world, it is absolutely amazing.”
Raag told the BBC he felt compelled to send the saunas to Ukraine, to allow soldiers to wash and remove their boots after long and grueling days on the front lines.
He added that he hopes it will boost morale, particularly as the weather gets colder in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
Estonia has a longstanding sauna culture, with its own military troops taking mobile saunas on recent missions in the Afghan desert and Lebanon.