Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
AFTER TEN days in the trenches of Robotyne, Grisha is ready for a rest. “Time for sex, drugs and rock-and-roll,” he says, his voice jittery from front-line adrenaline. The 36-year-old infantryman with Ukraine’s 65th brigade has just marched 7km from his position, hauling 60kg of equipment, jammer aerials and a large battery pack—vital survival kit for anyone working in the drone-filled skies of Zaporizhia province. In 2023, during Ukraine’s failed counter-offensive, every square metre of this ground was the subject of world news. Now the Russians are pushing back, and far fewer are paying attention. “It’s happening,” Grisha says. “You can see it. They are coming—crawling, crawling, up and over, trying for any way through.”
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Bracing for a surge in the south”
From the November 30th 2024 edition
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