“I don’t want to go into battle with such men”: Ukrainian sniper speaks bluntly about problems at the front

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

He knows the front very well: Konstantin P.* (53) fights against the Russians every day – and has done so for two years. The sniper nicknamed “Ded” commented on the situation at the front in a video interview with Ukrainian YouTube blogger and political expert Yuri Romanenko. And he fears the coming months will be bad.

“In the summer of 2022 we were fresh and fit and over time we got used to Western weapons. Last summer we launched our counter-offensive, but it did not go as planned. Now that aid deliveries are declining, our position has deteriorated,” “Ded” explains. Therefore, the summer of 2024 will be much tougher. He doesn’t think the Ukrainians will make any major breakthroughs. “And unfortunately it is possible that we also lose areas.”

“I don’t want to fight with men like that.”

The sniper already spoke out in August 2023. At the time also about the precarious conditions in the Ukrainian army. As he said at the time, seriously ill Ukrainians were given weapons and sent to war. “The men are sent to the front line unprepared,” he said.

And even now it doesn’t look any better. ‘They capture some men and take them to the front with us. They then tell us they don’t want to be here. I don’t want to go into battle with men like that, because then I’ll die too. But we must protect our lives because no one can replace us.” The country’s military and political leaders must also understand this.

‘Putin can easily recruit an additional 100,000 men’

Konstantin P. sees the social consequences of the war as one of the biggest problems. Those returning from war should be welcomed, but this happens far too rarely. “I know a 60-year-old who was seriously injured during the war, then had to beg in the subway and eventually died of his illness. I want such men not to have to beg after the war, but for the state to take care of them and find them a job. But he doesn’t care about such people.”

At the same time, the Russians do not have a supply problem. “Throughout the war, the soldiers we captured cited money as their main motive for being here. Therefore, it is clear to us that Putin can easily recruit an additional 100,000 men, or as many as he needs. Because finances are not a problem for him.” The Russians’ goal now is to conquer as much Ukrainian territory as possible.

At the moment everything indicates that the fronts are hardening. Ukraine and Russia could still gain territory by the end of the year. At the latest or in the first half of 2025, there will not necessarily be a ceasefire, but “a freeze on active operations at the front,” according to sniper “Ded.”

*Name known

Source: Blick