The Elite Ukrainian Soldiers Defending the Donbas

[marmar]

The Elite Ukrainian Soldiers Defending the Donbas
In the battle for the Donbas, Russian troops are facing off against some of the most experienced soldiers in the Ukrainian armed forces. A visit with Captain Oleksandr Staryna, who says the Russians have recently lost momentum.

By Alexander Sarovic and Emre Caylak (Photos) in Marinka, eastern Ukraine
10.05.2022, 20.57 Uhr


(Der Spiegel) Commander Oleksandr Staryna takes his right hand off the gear stick and points ahead. A small town rises above the eastern Ukrainian steppe: two golden church towers, a few Soviet-era buildings, low houses. "There," says Staryna. "This is Marinka."

He steers the SUV, an old Lada Niva, to the entrance of the village, past a wrecked car lying in the ditch. Two pensioners had been trying to escape in the vehicle when a Russian shell struck.

Sergeant Mykola Davydenko is sitting next to the commander. He is clutching the barrel of an assault rifle in one hand, a domestically produced Vulkan. The two Ukrainian elite soldiers are driving to their position in the embattled town. As we continue along the route, the level of destruction increases. Shelling has demolished roofs, mangled bedrooms and torched cars.

Staryna parks the Lada in a small courtyard. The soldiers regularly change cars. For close combat, they prefer light, maneuverable vehicles. Armored cars, the commander explains, aren't much help in Marinka.

It is now the second time that the town near Donetsk has been the scene of fighting that has the potential to decide the future of Ukraine. The war between pro-Russian separatists and government troops began here eight years ago here in the Donbas, the coal-mining region in the east of the country. After fierce fighting, the Ukrainian army was able to bring Marinka back under its control in June 2015. Since then, the front has run along the eastern outskirts.



....(snip)....

Staryna believes the Russian attackers have "lost momentum." He says many are wounded or dead. "We see this with our drones and hear it in the radio transmissions we intercept," he says. Most importantly, he says, the Ukrainian defenders destroyed a lot of Russian equipment. "I don’t want to brag," he says. "But lately, hardly a day has gone by in which we haven't destroyed an enemy artillery position." ...............(more)

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/starnya-s-mission-the-elite-ukrainian-soldiers-defending-the-donbas-a-54bde7bd-4c37-4bd0-9ae1-05272466cc3d