“Bakhmout is our fortress, we will not give in”, swear the soldiers who resist the assaults of the Russian forces

In Bakhmout, to the rhythm of the bombardments: the two camps give each other no respite, the pace is infernal. Valery’s face is scarred by months of war. “They use everything they have, Grad missiles, shells, tanks, planes, anti-tank missiles… The Russians are advancing like ants. They are moving en masse. When we are 20, opposite, there are 200. That’s why we need more ammunition. Help us more and stop talking, because the losses are very heavy.”

And no way for Valery to deliver the city to the Russians. “Bakhmut is our fortress. We won’t give up the city. The Ukrainians are Cossacks. They are ready to die to defend their families, because we are not slaves.”

“Like any good Cossack, we defend ourselves with arms in hand.”

Valery, Ukrainian soldier

at franceinfo

Fights always require more soldiers. Outside the city, a group of about thirty Ukrainian volunteers receives the last instructions from their leader Adam, visibly very moved. “It’s the first time they’ve gone into battle.” Do they even know what awaits them? “Yes, they know. What awaits them is war. It’s terrifying, but we hope that everything will be fine and that victory will be at the end. Our soldiers are dying every day, it hurts. They have family, relatives. Some of our guys are barely 23, 24. It’s terrible, because it’s our youth that is dying. It’s hard.“Many will not return. He sighs. “This is the truth. This is war.”

The Ukrainian army risks encirclement, but still refuses to offer Vladimir Putin a victory, even a symbolic one, a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.