The Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv was difficult and bitter, the soldiers engaged in the fighting: NPR

news7g09/29/2022

4 5 minutes read

The Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv was difficult and bitter, the soldiers engaged in the fighting: NPR

A soldier formerly an IT businessman and required to be identified only by the sign “Arun” is manning a checkpoint in Borshchova, northeast Ukraine, on Friday. The Ukrainian military recaptured the area from Russian forces earlier this month.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

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BORSHCHOVA, Ukraine – In this village that has just been recaptured by Russian forces, a Ukrainian soldier points out a network of trenches left behind by Russian troops. Narrow holes are dug right in front of each house. “Look,” he said. “House, trench. House, trench.”

The soldier from the 229th Battalion of Ukraine’s 127th Territorial Defense Brigade said he was only allowed to give his war nickname, Engineer. His unit was engaged in a multi-day battle to drive Russian forces out of Borshchova. The small farming village, now completely destroyed, is about 10 miles north of Kharkiv and 10 miles south of the Russian border.

A badly damaged car, looking for parts and marked with a “Z” symbolizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is seen in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

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A badly damaged car, looking for parts and marked with a “Z” symbolizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is seen in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

Russian troops quickly occupied this part of northeastern Ukraine in the days immediately following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In the months that followed, the area was fiercely contested by both sides until the invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian team finally pushed the last of the Russian and allied forces out of Borshchova on 11 September.

Residents in some areas of the Kharkiv oblast (region) reported that the Russian military lines quickly collapsed when the first news of the Ukrainian counter-offensive appeared. Social media in Ukraine highlighted stories of Russian soldiers ripping off their uniforms, dropping weapons and fleeing towards the border. But while there signal one Russia’s hasty withdrawals In the Kharkiv tower areas, Ukrainian soldiers here told NPR that the Russians in this part of the area were well dug, well equipped, and had considerable resistance. The Ukrainian military’s view of the counterattack in Kharkiv provides insight into ongoing efforts to repel Russian forces elsewhere in the country.

Solid location and monitoring in every building

The engineer said Russian soldiers and troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic had strategically consolidated their positions in Borshchova.

“In every tall building, they have a so-called eye,” he said, referring to surveillance cameras. “So there are locations from where they’re tracking us. They have very good equipment.”

The Russian forces did everything to stop the advance of the Engineer unit.

First, the Russians blew up the bridge on the approach to Borshchova. Then they placed mines on the edge of the village. As the Ukrainians moved forward, the Russians opened fire on them. The Ukrainians in turn hit back with their own artillery.

A fierce war destroyed the village

Every house in Borshchova was damaged or completely destroyed. The only inhabitants were a few stray dogs and some kittens that emerged from the pile of bricks and wood chips.

Civilians line up for humanitarian aid in Lyptsi, a village next to Borshchova, on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

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Civilians line up for humanitarian aid in Lyptsi, a village next to Borshchova, on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

Detritus littered an old Russian location in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

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Detritus littered an old Russian location in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

The engineer poked his toe into the position of the machine gun, the sandbag. There were so many used Russian grenade launchers lying around that he joked that they could be brought home as souvenirs.

“This is the Russian weapon they used against us,” he said, waving a pile of green tubular grenade launchers in the grass.

The engineer’s commander, who belonged to the Guerrilla Service, said that the Russians did not give up this part of the Kharkiv region easily.

“They dig into the ground so hard that we literally had to dig them out,” he said.

“Engineer” and “Agency” in Borshchova on Friday.

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“Engineer” and “Agency” in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

Easy to supply, hard to get

This is an area bordering Russia, allowing easy resupply by land from deep within the Russian Federation.

Authorities showed NPR that a barricade on the main road north out of Borshchova was guarded by two Russian armored personnel carriers hidden in a thicket. The machines would advance on their metal tracks, fire south with machine guns at advancing Ukrainians and then retreat into the bush.

The stretch is now covered in used shell casings. Authorities say Russian forces appear to have an inexhaustible supply of ammunition.

Large ammunition was spent on the road in Borshchova on Friday.

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Large ammunition was spent on the road in Borshchova on Friday.

Pete Kiehart for NPR

The counter-offensive in this part of Ukraine began on September 5. And over the course of a week, the Administration said his troops had to use everything they could to dislodge the Russians.

The authorities will not release any information on Ukrainian casualties in the counterattack. Injuries and deaths are considered military secrets in Ukraine. Power won’t even explain its own apparent lameness. But recently Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a French news agency His forces lost about 50 soldiers a day across the country during the war.

A Russian car was abandoned in Borshchova on Friday.

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An abandoned Russian car in Borshchova on Friday.

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It was not until the fifth day when the Ukrainians attacked Russian positions around Borshchova that Moscow’s forces began to retreat significantly. Even then, according to Arun, another Ukrainian soldier who took part in the attack, Russian artillery blocked their retreat back to the border.

Arun, also his man, used to work in the IT field. Now he is managing a Ukrainian checkpoint on the main road north of Borshchova. They are looking for for collaboratorsmonitor traffic and establish a presence so that Russian forces do not attempt to turn back.

Ukraine hunts for pro-Moscow collaborators suspected of helping Russia attack targets

Every step of Ukraine’s advance towards the border, Arun said, is difficult, “because our enemies have more weapons, more people and a lot of artillery.”

The battle for the small village of Borshchova may illustrate the difficult task ahead for Ukrainian soldiers as they attempt to retake large areas of Ukraine still occupied by Russian troops.