the essential
We were able to accompany a Ukrainian brigade into the trenches. A report just 200 meters from enemy positions in the Kreminna forest. Russians and Ukrainians engage in bitter clashes day and night using explosive drones, artillery and close-quarters combat.
The meeting is at 11 p.m. in the town of Lyman. I board the armored personnel carrier which takes me to the front. The hour and a half journey is done with all headlights off, so as not to attract the attention of the drones which now swarm in the Kreminna forest, at the eastern end of the free Donbass. I am already equipped with my bulletproof vest and a Kevlar helmet. I won’t leave them until I return.
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The vehicle finally comes to a stop on the sandy ground. “Come on, get out!” the driver shouts. You now have to run through the pines on uneven ground and in the pale red light of a headlamp. “Follow my steps carefully, there are unexploded projectiles and mines all around,” warns Dima, a young 21-year-old soldier with strong shoulders, his face hidden by a neck gaiter. Every five minutes, my blood runs cold as the unmistakable buzz of a drone passes overhead. “They’re ours, don’t worry,” Dima tries to reassure.
“Oh, that’s a 152mm”
I am relieved when at 2 a.m. we enter the buried command post. Even in the middle of the night, the ground frequently shakes under the noise of Russian artillery arrivals. “Oh, that’s a 152mm, it must have fallen 500 meters away. And here’s an 82mm mortar.” Evgeny, 52, shirtless with bleached hair, recognizes the projectiles by the noise. Four other soldiers are gathered in front of a screen which displays images from night vision reconnaissance drones.
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“Lets’ go”. Dima comes out to the surface. I am, not without some apprehension. We wind through a forest of ashes where shells and various munitions pile up on the ground. “This position was taken over from the Ruskofs just a few weeks ago,” rejoices Dima. We quickly arrive at the position. With my bulletproof vest, I struggle to squeeze through the narrow passage that leads into the trench. Putin’s men are right opposite, barely 200 meters away. Andryi, 48, observes them with small binoculars that hide two iceberg blue eyes. “It’s quiet there, they don’t move,” he describes.
“When I arrived, I was scared”
I barely dare to stand up to poke my head through the small opening which gives a glimpse of the opposing fortifications, bathed in the golden light of the east. Several violent explosions then occurred. I crouch on the ground. Andryi smiled: “It’s okay, it’s a few hundred meters.”
However, the ground shook and sand escaped from the ceiling. “The worst is the aerial bombs. We received a FAB yesterday morning, it was like in the old cartoons, you know, when the house takes off, stays suspended for a few seconds in the air, and falls little by little floor by floor”, image the soldier.
Nothing resists the FAB, whose explosion destroys everything up to 10 meters underground. I hope the skies will be kind this morning. A little further on, I approach Artur, 24, who is cleaning his assault rifle painted in green and white camouflage. The young man, with blond goatee and large, innocent-looking eyes, got married a month ago, while on leave. “I wanted to keep my family safe, in case…” His gaze wanders, as if he was peering into death in the distance. It is rare for a soldier to confide in me like this. “When I arrived here, I was scared. I thought the Russians had left mines and explosive traps,” he admits.
In the sky, rains of shells
I am ordered to return to the command post. Every minute spent on this front line is additional danger. On the way back, Dima regularly points his gun at the sky, with each dubious buzz. The thunder of bombs rang out from all sides. I am stunned by the noise, the fatigue and this forest sprint. It was 7 a.m. when we finally returned to the command post. Everyone sleeps soundly in sleeping bags placed on the wood. I have to wait until 9 p.m. to leave. I spend this endless time listening to the shells raining down.
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When the fateful hour finally arrives, light and heavy machine guns are suddenly heard in the distance: “The Russians are attacking the position of another brigade, 500 meters from here. It is too dangerous for the armored vehicle to come now “, Dima tells me. I finally leave the trench at three in the morning. On this Ukrainian front, the war never sleeps.
