Marines reveal the struggle to defend Kharkov

For months, Oleksiy fought to hold a thin strip of land surrounded by Russian troops.

Now he is sent to defend Moscow’s onslaught in the Kharkiv region, like many other soldiers who have fled from other parts of Ukraine’s front line.

It is a sign of the new focus of this war.

We caught up with Oleksiy over the past nine months. Now from northeastern Ukraine, he describes the difference in combat as “huge”.

Despite limited supplies, minimal profits and mounting losses, Kyiv maintains its southern foothold on the occupied east bank of the Dnipro River remains significant.

That’s where Oleksiy has been fighting for the past eight months. We’ve agreed not to reveal his real name.

The last time we spoke to him was six months agoin which he described the conditions on the swampy riverbank as “hell.”

Things have not improved yet.

“We tried to hold the bridgehead, but no equipment could get through, and we never once got past the Russian defense system,” he said.

The marines told us the area had been turned into a “moonscape,” with the entire village leveled to its foundations.

The Ukrainians also suffered heavy losses there.

“We destroyed a lot of Russian equipment, and they also destroyed a lot of our personnel,” he said. “We left our best men on the riverbank.”

Despite minimal progress and mounting losses, the Ukrainian military says it is pursuing three objectives at this bridgehead:

• To attract invaders from elsewhere
• To limit Russian artillery attacks on the city of Kherson across the river
• Eventually overcame it in large enough numbers to liberate the territory.

Oleksiy said the military aid promised by the United States is gradually arriving, but not all of it is reaching the front lines where he is stationed.

Despite forcing the Russians to retreat somewhat, the Ukrainians still had to endure constant fire from the Russians.

“Any movement is immediately covered by artillery or drones,” he explained. “The Russians also don’t seem to care about our presence there; We have become a suitcase without a handle.

“The troops there cannot leave and everyone understands that it is useless.”

It is hoped the new mobilization law, which took effect last month, will give soldiers like those fighting on the east coast a break.

“It won’t change anything!” said Boston, a commander of a flamethrower unit still fighting on the east coast. Boston was his military code name.

He sent us a video of him patrolling Krynky by the river. At one point he fired a Russian anti-personnel mine hidden in the sand.

“Everyone should join the army at 20,” he said. “But there is a problem, a lot of men have gone abroad. [to escape the draft]. No one wants to go back, no one wants to fight and no one wants to die.”

We gave their testimony to Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Self-Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine.

“Compared to Russian losses, our losses are significantly smaller,” he explained. “Secondly, we lose no more soldiers in this part of the front line than in other areas.”

By definition, a conscript will never be as motivated as a volunteer. Inspiring troops is also easier when combat goes your way. Not so for Ukraine, and especially on the eastern bank.

That may be why Mr. Pletenchuk appeared sympathetic when we told him about allegations of military disobedience on the east bank.

“Those forced to defend their country are yesterday’s civilians,” Mr. Pletenchuk said, smiling. “Of course they will have a different perception of the military.”

Before more military aid from the West arrived, Ukrainian generals believed that Russia was trying to expand the battlefield and stretch its defenses.

The invaders have been conducting a ground offensive in the northeast for more than a month, and although Ukraine has slowed its progress, it shows no signs of stopping.

That is why Oleksiy is now hundreds of kilometers away from the Kherson region.

“Everything happened in a rush and without preparation,” he said.

“Everyone is here: marines, air assault forces, State Border Guard, regular infantry, territorial defense forces and national police.”

“There are also more drones in the sky compared to the east bank of the Dnipro.”

Moscow is now at the forefront of this industrialized conflict, with Kyiv struggling to match its manpower, weapons and tactics.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted time for a diplomatic solution beneficial to Ukraine is running out, which is why he recently organized a peace summit in Switzerland.

It is about building global support for peace on his terms. While nearly 80 countries have signed an agreement, key regional powers in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia have not.

Russia was not invited, but ahead of the meeting, Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from four regions that he partially occupies.

His terms are maximalist and unrealistic, but his dominance on the battlefield means a potential peace deal could be more on his terms than Kyiv’s.

President Zelensky admitted his priority is simply to hold the front line. If his troops could do it before fall came and fighting conditions became more difficult, it would be considered a success.

In addition, he also declared that he still has plans to counterattack in the future.

If Oleksiy survives defending the Kharkiv region, he could return to Ukraine’s “hell” river crossing point in the south.

Additional reporting by Anastasiia Levchenko and Hanna Chornous