In the east as in the south, the Ukrainian army is in difficulty. The arrival of spring heralds the return of violent fighting, while kyiv still lacks troops and equipment. Interviewed by RTS, an artillery stationed in the Kherson region (south) believes that the city could soon be lost.
Vadim* has just returned from the front line when he meets the RTS. Equipped with a bulletproof vest, his Kalashnikov still blocks his torso. In his eyes, it is no longer fatigue, but exhaustion.
“It’s hard physically, yes, but mentally I’m fine,” he confides in the show Tout un monde, before correcting himself. “Actually, morally, it’s very difficult. It’s impossible to describe. When we’re on the front line, in our positions, I try to stay positive. Because if I let myself be negative, to tell myself that I’m going to die, I’m going crazy,” he explains.
Very delicate positions on the left bank of the Dnieper
As a gunner, Vadim’s function is to protect his companions on the other side of the river. In the Kherson region, one of the achievements of the Ukrainian army is indeed to have succeeded in creating positions on the left bank of the Dnieper, where the Russian army is located.
These positions are extremely fragile and constantly under Russian fire. Often compared to the First World War, these combats are characterized by an intense struggle to gain ground from the enemy, who is often only a few hundred meters away.
We try to help them as much as possible, to cover our infantry on the left bank, but we cannot do it. They unfortunately get killed
The cost of maintaining these positions is enormous. On several occasions, soldiers we met described seeing three-quarters of their brigade being decimated.
Drones saturating the airspace
For the Ukrainian artillerymen located on the right bank, it became extremely difficult to defend the men positioned on the other side of the river. In question, Russian drones, increasingly important in this war, and whose waves the Ukrainians are unable to jam due to lack of equipment.
Drones which target Ukrainian artillery and therefore prevent them from firing the shells necessary to cover the troops located further forward. “We try to help them as much as possible, to cover our infantry on the left bank, but we cannot do it. They are unfortunately killed,” testifies Vadim.
Soldiers often say it, and this is his case, “you have to avoid thinking about it too much, otherwise you go crazy”.
Rise of the Russian army
In the first months of the war, however, it was the Ukrainians whose ingenuity in terms of drones was often highlighted. But since then, Russia has adapted. “They have a lot more and are now making them on a large scale,” says Vadim.
And added: “The drones that we have available are only thanks to the volunteers who provided them for us.”
More generally, the artillery clearly feels a real rise in power of the Russian army. “When I go back to the front line, I go there with the desire to come back alive. But I don’t really have any power over that (…) I try to tell myself that forces superiors protect me This month, I was lucky, I have already risked dying twice because of the bombings,” he says.
I would like to return to civilian life, but how? How will the others continue to fight if we let them?
Conversely, kyiv’s troops are seriously lacking in equipment. We talk about shortages of drones, planes, tanks and especially ammunition, but soldiers often do not even have access to the basic minimum. To have a suitable bulletproof vest, you often have to obtain it yourself. “I bought it myself, with my own money,” confirms Vadim.
“I wish I could rest.”
If Vadim can recover less and less, it is also because Ukraine lacks soldiers to carry out rotations. Too many soldiers have died or are seriously injured and the country is struggling to mobilize.
“I would like to return to civilian life, but how? How will the others continue to fight if we leave them?” he asks.
“We need to rest, but for that, we must be able to be replaced by new recruits. Except that we have given them training which is theoretical. They lack practice (…) I would like to be able to rest, to forget all that, to forget the war, but I know that that is not going to happen anytime soon,” he adds.
Vadim notably remembers a new recruit who started to panic. “He shot at us. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But we don’t need people like that,” he laments.
The risk of losing Kherson?
The artilleryman interviewed by RTS, however, believes that the worst is yet to come. After being occupied for months by Russia, then liberated, Kherson is now bombarded daily. “I think we risk losing the city again,” he believes. Other Ukrainian soldiers make the same observation. For them, “the war is already lost” because “the enemy is too strong”.
Indispensable, American and European military aid remains insufficient and systematically arrives too late to confront Russia, which can count on deliveries of equipment from Iran or even North Korea.
For some, like Vadim, the exhaustion is such that the doubt of a “conspiracy” has intruded. “Russia has very large forces but it seems to me that our authorities are also dragging things out. Here, when we managed to go on the offensive, we advanced a kilometer in less than half an hour And yet we received the order not to move forward so quickly. I think that these are interests that are at stake, on a global scale (…) the war always brings money to some and I do not. don’t just think about Zelensky,” he concludes.
Radio report: Maurine Mercier
Web adaptation: Tristan Hertig
