In eastern Donbass, the Ukrainian army is struggling against the Russian army which is throwing all its forces against the towns of Sievierodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, and is gradually gaining ground. On the northwestern front, the Ukrainian troops manage, on the contrary, to prevent the Russian advance. Our special envoys are on the front lines with the Karpatska Sich battalion, one of the many nationalist battalions created in 2014 during the Maidan revolution. With more than 600 men, it is made up of volunteers integrated into the Ukrainian army.
With our special correspondents in the Donbass, Sebastien NemethandJad El Khoury
We are currently south of Izioum, a city now controlled by the Russians, on a front that is both stable, but intense. The Karpatska Sitch battalion and the others succeeded in stopping the enemy advance in this area of plains, hills and fields. This force has a base in the rear where the men come to rest every two weeks before returning to the front.
To reach the positions of the battalion, it is necessary to drive 25 km with a maximum level of danger. The Russians are constantly bombing, including using their drones to spot moving vehicles. Several times had to stop and hide the car in a wooded area to avoid detection or because the Russians were shelling the battalion positions.
Ukrainian soldiers are scattered in the region, in particular with T72 tanks discreetly positioned in various strategic places. The Russians are very close, about 2 km to the north. And all the time, they pound the Ukrainians.
But for this platoon commander, there was no question of giving up despite the opposing power. He compares the current conflict to a war of independence. ” They use artillery against us, tanks, mortars, all types of rockets. In short, all they can. But we are on our land. We are all motivated to protect our families and our country. In 1991, our territory simply separated from the USSR. But here, we are in a real fight for freedom, to become a nation, a country, a free land. »
[Diaporama] On the front line with the Karpatska Sich Battalion in the Donbass
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The Karpatska Sich is mainly made up of volunteers, who notably took up arms in 2014
They took up arms when the conflict in Donbass started. Since February and the start of the Russian offensive, these men have received weapons from the West, but also the reinforcement of foreign fighters.
We were able to talk to volunteers from South America: Peru, Brazil and even Colombia. All say they were shocked by the Russian attack, the deployment of force against Ukraine, the civilian victims, the abuses. ” I fought the FARC, but I have never seen such a level of power with such heavy artillery. My family say I’m crazy for coming here, thinking this ain’t my war a Colombian fighter told us, adding that a conflict where such atrocities are committed should be everyone’s business.
