Ukraine keeps sending new soldiers to Bakhmut

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Motivated but tired, another group of Ukrainian soldiers head to Bakhmut in the east of the country, where Ukrainian and Russian troops have been fighting costly battles for months. In Chasiv Yar, five kilometers from Bakhmut as the crow flies, the men are waiting for their transport vehicle. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (45) this week ordered not to give in and to strengthen the defenses of the city that has become a symbol. The Russian mercenary group Wagner had previously stated that they had now captured the eastern part of the city – Kiev feared that the city could soon be surrounded.

“We don’t know where we are going, that’s confidential – for security reasons,” one of the soldiers, who gave himself the wartime name Kit, told AFP news agency. He is the sniper of the group, armed with Russian Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers and modern Swedish weapons. In addition to sleeping bags and sleeping mats, they also carry food supplies, from canned food to energy drinks. The soldiers tie their helmets and upper arms with green tape – as a sign of recognition – and then get into the tracked vehicle.

“You deserve a humane burial”

When asked about the situation in Bakhmut, the driver Serhiy replies: “It’s tough, very tough.” The 34-year-old regularly drives soldiers to the front and back. “For two months, every day, whether it snows or rains. It’s muddy. But they keep fighting.”

Chasiv Yar, the first town west of Bakhmut, is a regular target of Russian attacks. Before the war, the city had 14,000 inhabitants, now the remaining people crawl like shadows through the muddy streets. The windows of the high-rise were mostly broken and artillery fire from the Ukrainian army echoed in the area. Older Soviet battle tanks of the Ukrainian army regularly pass through the city, as well as more modern western four-wheel drive vehicles.

Ambulances are constantly at work. “We get the injured and, in the worst case, the bodies,” says a doctor. “It’s hard, but we’re moving on. It’s hard to see the boy die. I hope it’s not in vain. They deserve a humane burial, not just somewhere in a field. They need to be buried near their home. to bury.” He and his colleague say Russian troops often try to shoot at ambulances.

“We believe in our infantry there, even if it is hell there.”

In the woods around Chasiv Yar, 22-year-old gunman Andriy lay under cover as heavy gunfire rang out around him. He waits with his light US M119 howitzer for the announcement of the coordinates of his target. When a shot from a Russian howitzer falls close to him, Andriy calls them to take cover in a trench with him. The damp earth sticks to the shoes, which are getting heavier and heavier.

After a few hours Andriy receives the announcement of the coordinates. “Our main goal is to prevent the encirclement of Bakhmut. We, but also the artillery. We believe in our infantry there, even if it is hell there,” says Andriy.

The words “for Da Vinci” can be read on the black felt of two of the howitzers. Da Vinci was the pseudonym of Dmytro Koziubailo, who volunteered to fight against Russian forces in 2014 at the age of 18; he died in Bachmut on Tuesday. After almost an hour and more than a dozen shots, Andrij’s superior reports that he has hit his target. (AFP)

Source: Blick