War in Ukraine: “I had motivation before… but anger and hatred strengthened it”

The Winter temperature Artillery battles are fierce, but the fighting spirit has not left the “Viking”, a Ukrainian soldier on the North-Eastern Front. For him, the motivation was simple: revenge on the Russians.

“The hardest thing for me is the death of my friends. I already had motivation… but anger, aggression and hatred strengthened it”, “Viking”, is the name of this 26-year-old tanker. Despite the heavy losses suffered by the Ukrainian army in the nine months of fighting since the Russian invasion began in February, “Viking” and the rest of his platoon will win the war. “We plan to push the Russians further and further to the limits,” he quips.

His unit participated September is the turning point This broke through the Russian defensive lines on the northeastern front and pushed Moscow’s forces eastward across the Askil River. The counteroffensive has slowed since the Russians reformed their defenses, but Ukrainians say they are still making progress despite the winter cold, straining supply lines and road conditions. “We’ve driven the Russians out, we’ve gained a foothold, we’re making progress little by little,” explains “Patriot,” a 23-year-old soldier and member of a platoon camped in a pine-lined meadow in the foreground. .

“There are a lot of bombings. Last month, I heard about 100 to 200 attacks,” he told AFP during their status visit organized by the Ukrainian military. Nearby, a 44-year-old army mechanic, who asked not to be identified, works on the engine of a Russian tank seized in September, which he is now using against its former owners.

“The condition of the Russian equipment is very bad. Everything was dirty and covered in diesel,” he says, “It’s almost ready.” After nine months in the field, the unit’s equipment, which comes from the Soviet era, reflects the dynamics of this war: one tank was provided by the Ukrainian army, another was taken from the Russians and a third was donated by Poland.

Ammunition was partly made up of Russian stocks captured on the battlefield. “It’s the Russian Lend-Lease Act,” said another panelist, who calls himself an “agricultural expert,” referring to the U.S. arms deal with Ukraine. In this part of the country’s northeast, the Ukrainians hope to capture a major highway serving the cities. Severodonetsk And Lysisansk And the east, occupied by the Russians. Both cities were captured after a brutal summer campaign in the industrial region of Donbass, in which both sides lost large numbers of soldiers.

Russian forces suffered setbacks, losing much of the Kharkiv region and recently withdrew. From the city of Kherson, in the south, which they had occupied since the beginning of the war. “In this part of the front line, we work to hold our position and sometimes launch counterattacks,” says Roman, a member of the main tank battalion operating in the area.

“The situation is completely under control and we are ready to face new, unexpected challenges,” he said. Military experts say the pace of fighting will soon pick up, with frost-freezing roads currently covered in mud.