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Meter by meter the Ukrainian armed forces try to advance against the Russian occupiers. The long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive has been underway for a few weeks, but threatens to falter.
A field medic told the Kiev Post: “The situation is very difficult. The Russians have been given too much time to prepare for the counter-offensive.” The Russians probably knew that the Ukrainians would advance towards Zaporizhia. The Russian answer: huge minefields.
“They are laying mines on the entrance to their positions”
The field doctor says: «Every square centimeter is cultivated. They place mines at the entrance to their positions and detonate them when they retreat.” As a result, the Ukrainians could only move at a snail’s pace and many soldiers fell victim to the mines.
It is not only the mines that are creating gaps in the ranks of Ukrainians. A soldier tells the Kiev Post that the Russians are waiting for the Ukrainians to be booby-trapped, fired upon by drone-guided artillery and tanks stationed behind hills, as well as guided and unguided aerial bombs.
So the troops are advancing slowly, but the toll is huge – and bad for morale. A paramedic told the newspaper, “In a month we’ve only moved a mile … We’re only moving inches, but I don’t think it’s worth all the personnel and equipment we’ve lost.”
Lack of training another problem
An infantryman fighting near Donetsk told the Kiev Post that another problem was lack of training. Before the start of the counter-offensive, for example, they practiced capturing trenches, but not defending them. Once a Russian fortress is taken, the enemy artillery will fire on it “from front to back”. “For every hundred yards we take, we lose four to five soldiers. That’s the average loss.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the entire offensive threatens to stall and remain in a bloody stalemate: the main reason is the lack of air sovereignty. Commanders and infantrymen also report to the New York Times on their problems at the front. Due to the losses, many ranks in the units were replaced by older, inexperienced soldiers.
“We have a chance of survival”
In addition, according to the NY Times, the Russian occupiers are superior to the Ukrainians in electronic warfare. Russian forces are capable of sniffing out cell phone signals and jamming GPS and radio frequencies, severely disrupting communications between Ukrainians.
According to an infantryman, a certain fatalism has spread among the ranks of the Ukrainians. Everyone expects to get hit. The soldier even draws a macabre comparison: “People in a crashing plane don’t stand a chance, and according to the statistics we have 30 percent killed and 40 percent injured, so we have a chance of survival. So it’s not that bad.” (new)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
