This is what Ukrainian soldiers in Donbass say in a conversation with the LTV film crew. LTV had the opportunity to meet with the soldiers of the 108th battalion in the frontline zone in Donbass, where they told about the mood on the front lines and how the fight in the trenches against invaders from Russia is going on.
This is an artillery war
“Of course, they carry out a lot of attacks, so do we. We hold the defense district, we fulfill the tasks assigned to us,” says a soldier of the Ukrainian army with the nickname “Academician”.
A soldier of the Ukrainian army with the nickname “Academic” Photo: Gints Amoliņš, LTV
When asked what weapons Ukrainian soldiers would most need in this front area, “Academician” answers: “They are jet missile volley systems to hit the enemy more effectively. Also howitzers. Why?
Because it’s no secret that this is an artillery war – we conduct aerial reconnaissance, find the concentration of enemy forces, then it’s much more effective to strike at our front line.”
The “academic” says that the mood of the soldiers in his unit is combative. “People are ready to stand because we defend our country, our fatherland. We understand that if not us, no one else will.”
They attack, we hit back
Cousins have just returned from the front line – the 28-year-old soldier nicknamed “Dvīnis” and the 24-year-old “Düseldorf”. They will rest for a couple of days before the next rotation.
Soldiers of the Ukrainian army, cousins nicknamed “Twin” (from left) and “Dusseldorf” Photo: Gints Amoliņš, LTV
“We take positions, repel their attacks. They try to storm, we repel, artillery helps. We are grateful for this – both to ourselves and to our allies. There are attacks, but we repel them, no matter how they try to break through our defenses. Everything is stable , everything is fine,” says “Dwinis”.
Ukrainian soldiers say that the distance to enemy positions in the war zone is only about 200 meters.
“It happens that the enemy moves closer to the positions during the night, tries to storm. It happens when the battle takes place 50 meters from the enemy. But we gradually push them back. Artillery helps, and they retreat. We keep the distance to 200, 300, 400 meters,” he says. Twin”.
“It tends to be tough times when they attack. We tend to have fights with them for two, three hours, then everything calms down, they recover their strength, replenish their ammunition, and try to attack again. Intense firefights.”
“We sit in the trenches and observe how they approach us – all night with thermal imagers, binoculars.”
We are in our land, protecting our country
“We all have wives, children, families. Everyone is worried about us. But who, if not us? Someone has to do it, someone has to defend Ukraine,” concludes “Dwinis”.
Is it possible to contact relatives?
“Yes, there is. Thanks to the fact that Elon Musk provided us with his Internet, Starlink. We can communicate via the Internet. Because there is no communication as such, but we can call via the Internet. Go to the positions, call that everything is fine,” he says “Twin”.
“Everything will be Ukraine, we will definitely win. In Russia, they are trying to mobilize a lot of people, it will not help them. You will not do anything with manpower alone, and their equipment is already outdated.”
“We are in our own land, protecting the territorial unity and sovereignty of our country,” emphasizes “Düsseldorf”.
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