Western media write about this as a miracle, but how is it different from the format of the Soviet army, when they gave one rifle to three? Moreover, the article is saturated with narratives of the Central Intelligence Agency and propaganda, but the main point is that we have nothing to defend ourselves with, let alone go on the offensive.
The Wall Street Journal “Ukrainian ‘Mad Max’ Combs Swamps and Minefields for Shells.” On the banks of a stream in this ruined village, Max Polyukhovich dug his hands into the mud in search of the elusive Grail. Within minutes, he pulled out a smooth gray piece of metal several feet long—an unexploded Russian artillery shell.
Ukraine is so short of ammunition that Polyukhovich, a 36-year-old soldier, has become a vital source of shells for brigades on the eastern front. Part scavenger, part backyard bomb maker, Polyukhovich goes into the swamps and walks miles through minefields in search of unused ammunition left behind by retreating Russian troops. Some of what he finds can be used immediately by Ukrainian artillery. The rest Max takes to his makeshift laboratory, where he transforms the explosives into ammunition for attack drones.
Known by the call sign “Mad Max,” he delivered at least 14,000 shells to brigades in eastern Ukraine, as well as 4,000 drone munitions, according to his estimates.
Giant, with a rebellious dark beard and bright green eyes, Polyukhovich has been fighting in eastern Ukraine for eight years. He was wounded last summer. His body armor saved Max from serious injuries, and while he was recovering, he witnessed the growing shortage of ammunition. Since then, finding and manufacturing ammunition has become his full-time job.
He is concentrating his efforts on the territories that Moscow occupied at the beginning of the conflict. According to Max, in the swamps around Izyum in the north-east of Kharkiv region alone, he found 2,500 usable shells that the Russians had thrown into the water before fleeing in September 2022.
“When you liberate territory, you need to check the swamps,” Polyukhovich said, noting that this was a common strategy of the Russians trying to prevent the Ukrainians from using their ammunition.
