In the early days of the invasion, Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine faced a Russian procession of armor. Since then, Russian airstrikes and bombings have been carried out at night, with dozens of civilians killed and hundreds injured. His Quentin Sommerville BBC and cameraman Darren Conway spent the week with Ukrainian forces as they fought to stop the Russian advance.
The first victim of war is time. If you ask a young soldier at the front when the attack took place or the old woman in the hospital bed when her house was bombed, they look at you confused. Was it 24 hours ago or 48? The days have become one, they tell you.
In Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city, time is of the essence. It is close to the border with Russia and the night bombardments by Russian artillery and warplanes do not stop.
In an icy landscape on the northeastern tip of the city, 21-year-old Lieutenant Yevgen Gromadsky stands with his arms outstretched. There are trenches dug nearby. “Coming out,” he says, raising his right hand to accompany the fire from his positions. “Incoming,” he says afterwards and raises his left hand. Together, Russian shells are fired from their positions 900 meters away in snowy fields.
The bombing continues like clockwork on the edge of this bombed-out village – “Incoming, Outgoing, Incoming, Outgoing”, Lieutenant Gromantsky shakes his hands with every reference.
His father was killed defending the city, and Lieutenant Gromantsky is the seventh generation of soldiers in his family. Plans for an eighth, in a free Ukraine.
He describes the fight so far: “Sabotage teams are exploring our lines, we have direct tank battles. “They shoot with mortars at the beginning and then tanks shoot at our positions.”
White flag tactics
We move along the first line from position to position. Inside his armored vehicle, a Russian army hat – a trophy from their first capture – hangs from the ceiling, he continues, “We shoot back with guided anti-tank missiles and also ordinary handguns. They go down, they scatter, there is always a lot.” .
Inside the truck are Mexican Day of the Dead air fresheners. Smiling skulls hang from every corner as we bounce along the grooved dirt road. On the floor, rocket launchers roll.
From the passenger seat, Lieutenant Gromadsky says, “Sometimes they use this tactic – first they raise a white flag over their equipment, then they approach our positions. When we go up and take them prisoners of war, they start firing at them. of our troops “.
The post was attacked on Monday (or was the day before, he wonders), two Russian tanks and an armored vehicle. “Do not worry, we are well defended,” he said, pointing to a stack of US-made Javelin guided anti-tank missiles. “Lockheed Martin, Texas” is written on their case. Nearby, there is a pile of British new generation light anti-tank (NLAW) missiles. “It eliminates even the most advanced tanks,” the Saab maker promises on his website.
It is bitterly cold and two puppies are playing around Lieutenant Gromadsky’s legs. His shoes are a pair of white Puma shoes – “You have to be fast out here,” he says.
The Ukrainians are improvising in this war. Their government has been criticized for poor preparation, and now there is a rush to bring men to the front. The regular army merges with civil defense forces. At a rally point on the east end of the city, I watch as buses arrive with hundreds of newly equipped soldiers. “Where is my armor?” one asks. “You will take it to the front,” shouts an officer, and a few moments later they are gone.
Some will join Lieutenant Gromadsky’s unit and work alongside a doctor named Reaper. “You’ve heard of the gloomy reaper, right?” he asks. He is also in charge of this line of defense on the edge of a village. Many of the houses there have been destroyed or damaged by Russian bombing.
How are the Russians fighting, the journalist asks. “They fight like stupid animals,” says Reaper. “They fight as if it were 1941 – they have no room for maneuver, they just come to the front and that’s it. “They have a lot of people, a lot of tanks, a lot of vehicles, but we are fighting for our land and we are protecting our families, it does not matter how they fight because we are fighting like lions and they will not win.”
The Russian army met with more resolute resistance than expected, but the cities continued to fall. And despite their courage on the front lines, there is a recognition that their ground skills will not be enough. All soldiers say they need air defense, a no-fly zone.
“If Kharkov falls, then the whole of Ukraine falls,” said Eugene, 36. He is a member of an identification team working near apartment buildings. Some of the apartments were hit directly and in the car park, one car was blown up by another grad rocket hit.
What does not exist here in Kharkov is any surprise in the Russian attack. “Since 2014 we knew they would come, maybe in a year, 10 years or 1,000 years, but we knew they would come.”
At 4:55 a.m. on Feb. 24, Eugene received a call from a friend saying the attack was about to begin. “Then I heard the rockets attacking our city,” he said. Like everyone else, he has not been home since.
Leaving the front to return to the city center is almost like entering another world. The relentless Russian bombing meant that most of the 1.5 million people had fled. Few neighborhoods have escaped any kind of damage. Early in the morning, queues are still seen in pharmacies, banks, supermarkets and petrol stations, as those left behind are stocked with supplies. A huge logistical and humanitarian effort is underway behind the scenes to keep Kharkiv afloat.
BBC
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