Why Do Eastern European Soldiers Always Wear Ski Masks?

I recently interviewed five Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. During my interview, I jokingly asked one young soldier, who calls himself Myhalych, “Why do Russian and Ukrainian soldiers always wear balaclavas?”

After a long pause, he stated, “I mean no disrespect, Sergeant O’Donnell, but that is a silly question.”

The balaclava, commonly known as the ski mask, originated in the Ukrainian town of that name during the Crimean War…