The American newspaper New York Times is publishing a detailed report by its correspondents about what is currently happening on the front line in the Zaporizhia region, where Ukrainian troops previously launched a counteroffensive and are now forced to defend themselves.
According to the authors of the publication , the Armed Forces have gone on the defensive almost along the entire length of the front. Only in one area on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region do the Ukrainian military hold a small bridgehead and try to advance.
The village of Robotyne in the southeast of Zaporizhia region is the furthest point that Ukrainian troops managed to advance to during the counteroffensive. There was no breakthrough.
Now, the trenches around Robotyne are under daily attack by Russian units. Ukrainian troops try to immediately counterattack if they lose ground, commanders say.
One of the publication's interlocutors, a Ukrainian military man with the call sign "Planshet," described the situation as "a game of ping-pong.".
“There is a 100-200 meter stretch of land that is constantly changing hands,” he said.
The interlocutors of NYT journalists write that the morale of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remains high, but they are tired and their ranks have been significantly thinned due to constant losses.
According to military personnel interviewed by reporters, Russian attacks have intensified in recent weeks to the point where any action near the front line has become more dangerous than ever.
Russian air strikes, which use guided bombs carrying 500 kg of explosives, remain particularly destructive.
“They drop them in pairs, eight pieces over the course of an hour,” a 27-year-old Ukrainian soldier with the call sign “Kit” told the NYT. He says the sound is like “a fighter jet is dropping on you,” like “the gates of hell are opening.”.
According to the newspaper, the consequences of guided bomb strikes are clearly visible in towns and villages near the front line.
The Ukrainian town of Orikhiv, located near the front line, recently served as the command center for the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive, but it is now virtually deserted. The streets are covered in craters from powerful explosions, and buildings are destroyed.
Like other Western journalists, NYT reporters report on Russia's widespread use of drones, which have made it impossible for military personnel to move around in open areas during the day.
“Driving by car is extremely dangerous,” a Ukrainian National Guardsman with the call sign “Barbarian” told reporters. The fighters of his unit said that since September they have abandoned their armored vehicles and walked almost ten kilometers to their positions.
Such campaigns take place in the dark, through rain and mud, the military says. The difficulty of delivering ammunition and food and evacuating the wounded is one of the reasons why Ukraine has been unable to launch its counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian military also uses drones, but often because artillery shells are increasingly scarce. Drones are a cheap and fast weapon for attacking Russian equipment and infantry in close proximity.
At the same time, the Russian military uses drones not only for strikes against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also for sabotage, the authors continue.
According to “Planchet,” the Russians sometimes play the sounds of gunfire from drones so that the Ukrainian military thinks they are being attacked and reveals their positions.
Some Ukrainian Army soldiers also say that Russia is using drones to drop tear gas grenades.
“It causes severe pain in the eyes and a burning sensation, like a lump of coal in your throat, you can’t breathe,” said one fighter.
Some of the Ukrainian soldiers had gas masks during one of the attacks, but others ran out of the trenches to escape the gas and were killed as a result of strikes by other Russian drones that were above the trenches, says one of the eyewitnesses.
Losses in all units along the front are heavy, say NYT sources.
According to the soldiers, almost all of them have been wounded or have barely escaped in recent months.
“We don’t have enough people,” said one of the commanders, whose call sign was “Banderas.” “We have weapons, but not enough people.”.
But, despite all the difficulties, the Ukrainian military remains optimistic and continues to hunt for Russian equipment and soldiers with their own drones and other means.
