NYT WORLD: Russia’s New Offensive Sends Conscripts Into the Teeth of Ukraine’s Lines
By Andrew E. Kramer and Tyler Hicks
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 27, 2023 at 02:00AM
“‘Are there any of our guys in front of us?’” he asked, according to an account of the ensuing firefight by fellow Ukrainian soldiers.
There were not. Two Ukrainians crept forward into the muddy wasteland of artillery craters between the two trench lines outside the eastern city of Lyman, eventually reaching the wreckage of an armored personnel carrier. Using it as cover to shoot from an unexpected angle, they forced the Russians to retreat. When it was over, they found the body of one soldier.
“Every day, sometimes more than once a day, small groups come forward and try to take our positions,” said one of the Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the fight, and who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Diesel, for security reasons.
For months, military analysts have been anticipating that the Russian military, under pressure from President Vladimir V. Putin, would seek to regain momentum in the war as the first anniversary approached. A recent series of attacks along the front lines in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine were at first regarded as exploratory thrusts. But increasingly, they are seen as the best the exhausted Russian forces can manage.
“Russia’s big new offensive is underway,” said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, in an interview last week with the Ukrainian edition of Forbes magazine. “But going in a way that not everyone can even notice it.”
By Andrew E. Kramer and Tyler Hicks
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 27, 2023 at 02:00AM
A month into the campaign, Russian forces have barely budged despite forays by small units in fields, pine forests and ruined towns.
LYMAN, Ukraine — Peering through an infrared scope, a Ukrainian soldier noticed some heads poking over a trench a few dozen yards away.“‘Are there any of our guys in front of us?’” he asked, according to an account of the ensuing firefight by fellow Ukrainian soldiers.
There were not. Two Ukrainians crept forward into the muddy wasteland of artillery craters between the two trench lines outside the eastern city of Lyman, eventually reaching the wreckage of an armored personnel carrier. Using it as cover to shoot from an unexpected angle, they forced the Russians to retreat. When it was over, they found the body of one soldier.
“Every day, sometimes more than once a day, small groups come forward and try to take our positions,” said one of the Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the fight, and who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Diesel, for security reasons.
For months, military analysts have been anticipating that the Russian military, under pressure from President Vladimir V. Putin, would seek to regain momentum in the war as the first anniversary approached. A recent series of attacks along the front lines in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine were at first regarded as exploratory thrusts. But increasingly, they are seen as the best the exhausted Russian forces can manage.
“Russia’s big new offensive is underway,” said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, in an interview last week with the Ukrainian edition of Forbes magazine. “But going in a way that not everyone can even notice it.”
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/world/europe/russia-offensive-ukraine.html
Posts
