The Air Intelligence Unit “Otchi” near Bachmout (Ukraine), November 23, 2022. LAURENT VAN DER STOCKT FOR “THE WORLD”
The crews of two SAU-122 howitzers – which look like tanks from a distance – trade jokes in the freezing cold at the edge of a tiny forest. The faces are tired. To encourage themselves, they prepare coffee by heating it with a blowtorch. Explosions echo in the gray sky. The soldiers who aren’t standing on the tanks have their feet stuck in thick mud. About ten kilometers away is the town of Bakhmout, which Russian forces have been trying to capture with non-stop artillery shelling for more than four months.
Oleksandr Lapa, a green cap pulled down just above his eyes, is careful not to stray too far from an antenna of the Starlink internet connection system. The 24-year-old is awaiting orders from the 58th Brigade command to direct fire on Russian army positions. But freezing rain prevents drones tasked with identifying targets from flying. To pass the time, the soldier connects the anecdotes that tell the human cost of fighting to avoid the enemy’s capture of this Donbass city.
In images captured by a Ukrainian drone flying over Russian infantry positions, Oleksandr Lapa saw men fleeing in all directions to avoid bombardment. “I don’t know if they were on drugs, but they were running around,” he said soberly. There an explosion, three dead, then another explosion, three more dead. And the boys kept running…” Another time, it was Ukrainian soldiers who managed to recover a military radio after reaching an enemy position. For several days, the Kiev forces listened to orders from a Russian commander. “He shouted and gave the soldiers thirty minutes to take a position and threatened to kill them himself if they didn’t take it,” says Oleksandr Lapa casually.
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In the Bakhmout sector, Russian forces, consisting of the regular army, newly mobilized soldiers and mercenaries from the Wagner private militia, have been on the offensive for several months. Capturing this bombed city would allow them to make progress towards their goal of capturing the entire Donbass region, which was partially annexed by Russia in September, and securing a long-awaited victory after recent military setbacks at the front lines, especially in southern Ukraine.
Heavy fights
In this sector, Moscow’s troops in numerical superiority are slowly nibbling the ground, while the Ukrainian gunners are running out of ammunition. The fights are terribly violent and costly, on both sides. Despite the fatigue, after nine months of war, the Kiev troops somehow resist the enemy steamroller.
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