TikTok soldier and influencer chef on the front lines in Ukraine shoots recipe videos between his missions

“Take a close-up of my fingers,” he said to his friend, who was working as a cameraman for the day. “Make the image smaller.” The shot showed his hands, scarred by shrapnel, as he carefully peeled onions for an Italian classic: pasta all'arrabbiata.

Mokrytskyi's social media profile describes his life as a part-time celebrity chef and soldier succinctly: “A chef from the hell of war.”

Only 24 hours earlier, he had been working as a drone pilot in what he called the “Hell of Toretsk,” defending the city in the east of the country that Russia has been trying to take over for months.

“After the operations there were, let’s say… many terrible and distressing images,” he said.

“I needed to recover mentally.”

“I got to the point where I said to myself it would be cool to film myself making fries,” the soldier said.

The success of this idea exceeded his expectations: his video was viewed three million times.

Mokrytskyi felt encouraged and enlisted friends from his battalion. They called their wives to get ideas for recipes. Then he realized that he was doing something good not only for his own mental health, but also for that of his comrades.

“Everyone was joking,” he said. “It's not just me who has to mentally rebuild myself, but everyone around me as well.”

His video sessions offer “an hour or two” of lightheartedness – an unusual feeling on the front lines in Donbass, where fighting has been nonstop since Moscow’s invasion two and a half years ago.

His battalion comrade Ivan played with the camera and seemed pleased about the exhilarating break from the war.

Ivan's nights are usually restless.

“When I film Ruslan, I don’t think about the war,” says the 25-year-old, adding that as a bonus he also gets a good meal while working on his videos.

On his TikTok page, Mokrytskyi's content alternates between cooking recipes and candid images showing the reality of war.

In addition to the “vital” psychological benefits, running a social media page also means that the soldier maintains a connection to civilian life.

In addition, civilians – and their families – can learn about the life of a soldier in the East.

Mokrytskyi said: “If you don’t have contact with your family, you can go crazy.”

He strives to make the content entertaining but still war-related, for example by converting a rifle cartridge into a pepper shaker or using products he finds in destroyed cities he travels through.

Since Mokrytskyi is now a well-known face, several companies are also interested in him.

“An energy drink company approached me,” he said, about making him a brand ambassador. “They sent me drink packages and helped me when I was injured,” he added, his hands still covered in scars.

At first he received generous donations from civilians, but after two and a half years of war these have dried up. But he knows his videos are helping to keep Ukraine's spirits up – and maybe even helping to undermine stereotypes of the enemy.

This is one of his motivations for running his cooking war channel despite his very demanding obligations as a soldier.

When a friend was killed, it took him “four days to recover,” but then he started making videos again.

Back in his cooking frenzy, the smell of hot parmesan rose over the ruins and Mokrytskyi emptied the pasta onto his comrades' plastic plates.

A smile lit up their faces.