Ukrainian soldiers on the border in Donetsk

Meter by meter, the war is expelling life from this area, leaving behind a trail of rubble and ash, a landscape reeking of explosives and dust. Meter by meter, the enemy is getting closer to Pokrovsk. More and more areas of Donetsk are marked in red on the map, indicating the territories occupied by the Kremlin. Since April, after the capture of Okhretin, Russia has pushed the front line in the direction of Pokrovsk by 10-12 kilometers. To contain the enemy around Pokrovsk, Ukrainian forces are forced to deploy reserves and equipment, and the defense in other sectors is weakening. This redeployment has allowed the Russians to achieve tactical successes in key locations such as Turetsk, New York and Chasiv Yar, and to advance near Krasnohorivka and Vuhldar.

Ukrainian troops are fighting fiercely for every position, for every meter, but the Russian advance has not stopped yet. When asked about the situation on the front, soldiers respond with short phrases like “critical” or “difficult, but we are resisting.” The reasons for these difficulties are the same as before: exhausted troops; lack of reserves, drones and ammunition; lack of proper cover against enemy drones. In some places, as in the northwest of Avdiivka, even the terrain favored the Russian advance.

This summer, the Russian military has continued its advance, sparing no lives, using a variety of tactics to gain ground. The Kremlin’s forces are probing weak spots in Ukraine’s defensive lines and increasing pressure where they find them. His regime is following an already well-established pattern: airstrikes, followed by artillery attacks, then incursions by small groups of infantry. They have even deployed old motorcycles, an unusual tool for Putin’s forces, allowing them to move quickly into gray areas and reach new positions under enemy fire.

less and less motivated

In the 68th Brigade, optimism is not in short supply. At least that is how Taras, nicknamed “the Italian”, one of the battalion’s deputy officers, puts it. Taras describes the situation with a blunt word: “shit.” The brigade, which the world press has known since the counteroffensive, managed to break through the front and recapture the first villages. Now the euphoria of those days is behind us. This year, the brigade has devoted its efforts to stopping the Russian advance in Donetsk.

The story of 32-year-old Taras is both familiar and unique. At the beginning of the war, he returned to Ukraine from Italy. Some ill-advised phrases in Italian earned him the nickname “the Italian.” His diagnosis of the situation is clear: “We lack everything.” From personnel to the team. The effectiveness of the men mobilized by force, according to the Italian, is questionable. “There are no more fools like us,” he says, referring to the lack of motivation. And these “fools” are no longer there because of the heavy weight. The losses of the Ukrainian army, which killed some officers and sergeants, especially when the front was at Avdiivka. The actual restoration of those losses remains an outstanding task.

The Kremlin’s motivation for seizing Pokrovsk and Myrnograd, which are currently under heavy fire, is not sentimental. Pokrovsk is the largest city west of Donetsk and a major transport hub. Its capture would bring the fighting to the Dnipropetrovsk region. Taking the city would also cut the “lifeline” between Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka, which supplies Ukrainian forces at Chasiv Yar. This could be the key to achieving what the occupiers have longed for throughout the decade-long bloody war: the complete conquest of Donetsk. But this is not a matter of days, or even weeks.

Sergei Tsikhovsky, press officer of the 59th Brigade, one of the forces responsible for the defense of Pokrovsk, believes that Russian forces will not be able to break through the lines or take the city. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he notes that the main task of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was to contain and wear down the enemy, and that “despite the scarcity of everything,” they have accomplished this task “excellently.” As evidence of this success, he cites the elimination of more than 5,200 Russian soldiers on his sector of the front, as well as the destruction of armored vehicles and ammunition depots. “The advance of the ‘great army of the world’ in this sector, with its human and material resources, is not a success. It is simply nothing,” Tsikhovsky concludes.

The question of negotiations is a thorny one in Donetsk. The soldiers say they do not want any kind of peace with Russia. They also claim that Russia will not stop until it stops. Some expect reinforcements after the Kursk operation, while others are confident that the Russian offensive will peter out. “It is a painful subject. Everyone wants victory. Why have we lost so many people? But if someone wants a full military solution… how and with whom will it be achieved?” asks again. , Italian.