In the basement of an apartment building in Bakhmout, one of the hottest spots on the eastern front in Ukraine, “Fox” admits not knowing how long his brothers in arms will still be able to hold this city against the thrust of Russian troops.
Moscow’s forces have been trying to seize this industrial city since the summer, turning Bakhmout into the scene of particularly deadly clashes. The Ukrainian military command acknowledged on Tuesday that the situation there was “extremely difficult”.
Bakhmout will most likely fall
If other Ukrainian soldiers try to remain optimistic, promising like their president to hold the city, largely destroyed, as long as possible, “Fox”, 40 years old, evokes a less than rosy situation. According to him, the defenders of Bakhmout do not have enough men or ammunition and feel discouraged. “Everyone is on edge,” he says.
“Fox” spoke with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a cellar where he and his comrades have set up camp. Sitting on a bed, his assault rifle close by, he talks about all the difficulties that Ukrainians face. “Lack of sleep, cold, rain, the weather changing all the time, constant bombardments, constant infantry assaults”, enumerates this soldier in fatigues.
Last year, “Fox” was injured and can no longer serve in the infantry. It now ensures the transport of supplies to the soldiers in the trenches and the evacuation of the wounded.
If the strategic value of Bakhmout is disputed, the battle has made this fortress city a symbol. Both Russians and Ukrainians have, in all likelihood, lost many men there.
According to “Fox”, it is difficult to make predictions, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to resist the onslaught of the Russians and their artillery fire. “We do not feel the support of our artillery”, he loose, before adding that “Bakhmout will most likely fall”.
“A Powerful Aggressor”
Other soldiers were keen to remain optimistic, despite the difficulties. “If we feel defeated, if we are apathetic, we will not win. But we are in a good mood, ”says “Kaï”, a 44-year-old mortar crew, with a broad smile. “We did not run away. We are all there, ”he continues, inside a house where he is staying with other Ukrainian soldiers.
A second mortar gunner, “Ded”, said he was “totally optimistic”. Pulling on his cigarette, this 45-year-old man wants Ukrainian forces not only to keep Bakhmout but to retake Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014 by Russia.
“Fox”, meanwhile, believes it is important not to underestimate his opponent: “We are fighting against a powerful aggressor”. “They suffered significant losses, drew conclusions and changed their strategy,” explains this man.
Aided by the Russian army, the paramilitary group Wagner is on the front line in the battle for Bakhmout. Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigojine recruited en masse from Russian prisons to form his units. He now wants to pose as a competitor to the army.
For “Fox”, the course of the battle proves that the Russian soldiers are not “idiots, alcoholics and drug addicts”. “They have smart people, people who know how to fight. They think, they learn, the same way we do,” he continues.
Bakhmout is still holding on only to a “huge price”, he specifies. “Every street is covered with our blood”.
If he refrained from criticizing his commanders, “Fox” admits not knowing why the Ukrainian forces are still fighting for Bakhmout, “a political decision, perhaps”, he says.
A year after the start of the Russian invasion, the soldier is just happy to still be alive. And to joke that even cats, who have nine lives according to popular wisdom, consider him “lucky”…