Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers return from eastern front For a month, the 81st brigade battled to push back the Russian advance on the Ukrainian Donbas front (AFP/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)
AFP: Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers return from eastern front
Packed with exhausted Ukrainian soldiers with clenched jaws, the truck drives away at full speed. The troops from the 81st brigade have just received an order to withdraw from the eastern front where Russian forces advance.
The brigade walked 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) Saturday, camouflaged in the woods and under crossfire, until their point of retreat at Sviatoguirsk.
For a month, the 81st -- whose motto is "always first" -- battled to push back the Russian advance in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region where Moscow's troops move forward slowly, taking villages one by one.
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WNU Editor: The 'Moon Over Alabama" does a good breakdown of the above AFP report .... Ukraine's Army Is In Very Bad Shape - More Fighting Will Only Destroy It (Moon of Alabama). In response the Ukraine government in the past week has been admitting that they have suffered heavy losses, but are claiming that Russian losses have been greater .... Ukraine admits 'serious losses' in eastern battles, but says Russia's are 'colossal' (FOX News).
As to what is my take on the above AFP report .... I am not in the war-zone, so it is hard to decipher what is actually happening. Truth is always the first casualty of war, and the Russia - Ukraine war is no exception.
But for the past 2 to 3 weeks I have been seeing some unbelievably horrible on the ground videos from the Russian side on what they are doing to the Ukraine Army. These videos show massive destruction of Ukraine military vehicles, scores of dead Ukrainian soldiers, and many prisoners. I have seen nothing comparable from the Ukraine side and what they are doing to the Russia military on the ground in the past 3 weeks .... just the usual drone shots, Javelins hitting Russian armor, exploding tanks in the distance, and artillery strikes captured by a drone video.
I have also seen many pictures and videos of Ukrainian soldiers now using civilian vehicles, a red flag to me that Ukrainian pleas for more tanks and military vehicles are justified. And as for body-counts. I see the regular updates from the Ukrainian military on how many Russian soldiers they have killed, numbers that are then duly repeated by the West. Interestingly, the Russian Ministry of Defense rarely gives out these numbers. But I do know from Russian social media that the numbers may not be as high as what Ukraine are reporting, but they are in the many thousands killed, and even more injured.
In conclusion.
The Russia - Ukraine conflict is a military/economic/and media war. Both sides have made it very clear that they will not stop until they have won on the battlefield, and since no one is interested in de-escalation/ceasefire/or peace talks, that tells me that the war is going to grind-on into next year with horrendous casualties and destruction on both sides.
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