in Ukraine, “tired” soldiers hope for relief on the front

After almost two years of war, the Ukrainian military is exhausted. In Donbass, on the ground, troops are waiting to be replaced by new recruits.

In Donbass, Oleksandr sits on an old mattress, placed on the bare floor. At least, in this Spartan house, emptied of its inhabitants, it is warm. This Ukrainian soldier arrives from the front which is very close, a handful of kilometers away. With his companions, exhausted, they stayed here for a few days before returning. These soldiers are demanding relief at the front. Their families are also demonstrating to obtain their return from the front and their replacement by new recruits. Volodymyr Zelensky assured Tuesday, December 19 that the army had recommended the mobilization of 450 to 500,000 additional men, sowing disorder among those who could be mobilized.

On the battlefield, the troops are exhausted. “We lack men and health. How much longer can we last? Men are not made of iron”, believes Oleksandr. In Avdiivka, where the soldiers are fighting, they have been falling by the thousands for a month, on both sides of the front line. In the field, ammunition is saved. We’re waiting for the promised help, but even if it comes, Sacha knows it won’t be enough: “In this case no armor or weapon will be effective, quite simply because the men are exhausted”.

For the holidays, Sacha simply called his 11-year-old daughter, a laconic call lasting only a few minutes, simply to say “How’s it going” when he was exhausted after several days at the front. “The guys are all tired morally, not physically,” explains Beha, 22, who is the youngest.

“We were told that all our leave at the end of the year was canceled because there are no men, there is no relief. There is no one to fight the war.”

Beha, a young Ukrainian soldier

at franceinfo

Here, there is no question of getting drunk in the evenings when we move away from the front, alcohol is prohibited in Donbass. They pay attention to it, you have to be able to last. In a position a little further north, on the edge of a frozen forest, near the trench with sharp edges of ice where he is training his men, non-commissioned officer Arthur clenches his jaw. “The first thing we are lacking is the human factor. We need men, that’s all. We need to be supplied with men. It would be good if all those who are at the rear or those who are fled abroad, came back and helped us here”he says.

Seeing the rear living normally, seeing so many men evade conscription, seeing false medical certificates, all of this damages the morale of the soldiers. Lucid, they know that victory is no longer within reach. Determined despite everything, they are sure that it remains possible if the weapons arrive and if everyone gets involved to finally come and raise them.