“We are the last bastion before Kupjansk”

A lack of soldiers means that many Ukrainians stay at the front for months before they can rest for a few days. When they go on holiday, they report constant waves of attacks and high losses on both sides.

The meeting point must be reached quickly: Russian reconnaissance drones could be in the air and notify the artillery. It is less than ten kilometers from Kupjansk-Vuzlovyi to the front.

So a brief greeting, then they go through the garden into a small house. In the hallway, the soldiers take off their shoes. A family must have lived here at some point, there is a wedding photo on the wall. The soldiers have only been here since the day before, after two months under constant fire in the trenches.

A man with shaved hair and a round face tells us about it. His nickname: “Kabatschok” – in English “zucchini”: “We should see a psychologist. We need to do something for our brains. Because we were in such shit for two months that no one can explain it. We didn't leave our position for two months. Constant bombardment: mortars, drones, explosions. It's hard to imagine. In our position it's like a hornet's nest.”

Daily waves of attacks

The men are marked by the past few months, their faces look gaunt. They belong to the infantry of the 43rd mechanized brigade, which is defending the front line east of Kupiansk for Ukraine in a difficult position. In front of them are Russian units, behind them is the Oskil River.

The bridge over it in Kupjansk has long been destroyed, and temporary bridges are immediately bombarded by Russian artillery. So only a rutted road leads to the brigade's position. From the next river crossing, it takes almost two hours to drive slowly, over potholes, parallel to the front.

A soldier who calls himself “Apostol” says that the first day in the trenches began with eight assaults. There were several waves of attacks every day, for two months without a break. The enemy suffered colossal losses, but they also suffered many casualties.

“Our battalion stands like a stone wall”

Russia has more people and more weapons. According to Western intelligence services, Russia recruits around 30,000 new soldiers every month. Many of them will soon be sent to the front, often to certain death. A tactic designed to wear down the Ukrainian soldiers.

The Russian offensive has been going on here for some time, says “Panas” from the staff: “They wanted to break through here quickly, but that didn't work. They are stubborn. But our battalion stands like a stone wall. We lost a lot of people, but they didn't get through. We are the last bastion before Kupjansk.”

From the other side of the river, it is less than two hours' drive to Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. So the order is: hold the front.

The biggest shortage: soldiers

Without Western support, they would not be able to hold out, say the soldiers. But it is only reaching them slowly. They have what they received six months ago, says “Panas”. That means they lack practically everything.

But above all there is a lack of soldiers. The Ukrainian government hesitated for a long time before passing a new law on the mobilization of new soldiers in May. But they first have to be drafted and trained. That is why there is hardly any rotation, and why the infantrymen have to stay in the trenches for two months.

“There is simply no way out”

The soldiers are tired and worn out, but they laugh a lot. “We have no choice. We have to hold on. For many here, it is not just an order, but a moral question. Most are here because they are defending their homeland and their families,” says one who is only known here as the “mechanic.” That was his job until two years ago, before his life in the army.

Even if there is no end in sight, the soldiers here do not want to “freeze” the war, as some politicians are demanding. Neither does “Panas”: “It is Ukraine's only chance to survive. I am not saying this because I support our government. There is simply no way out. If we were to freeze the hostilities now, it would give the enemy a breathing space. No one has yet driven the idea of ​​empire out of them.”

“We will not live under a dictatorship”

His comrades see it similarly. The Russian soldiers, they say, fought only for kopecks. And what about them? “We lived like people, like ordinary people. We want things to go back to how they were,” says “Apostol.” Another interrupts him: “We will not live under a dictatorship. We are free people. Ukrainians have always fought for their freedom.”

No one knows how long they will continue to fight in the east. Questions that are beyond one's control drain the energy needed to survive. In Kupjansk-Vuzlovyi, the soldiers are now looking forward to a real bed, a shower and a shashlik in the evening.