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A Ukrainian soldier says over 100 of his comrades were killed or went missing in an attack, per AP.
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His brigade was brought in to try to hold a position that had hardly any fortifications.
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It had to retreat as soldiers struggled to build fortifications under Russian fire, AP reported.
A Ukrainian soldier fighting on a key battlefront in the country’s east described how over 100 of his comrades were killed or went missing as they struggled to build fortifications under heavy Russian fire.
The soldier, from Ukraine’s 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, spoke to the Association Press on condition of anonymity to share the situation on the front line.
According to the news agency, his brigade was rotated in mid-March to hold a position less than two miles from the strategic city of Chasiv Yar in Donestk.
Instead of the dugouts, maze of trenches, and firing positions he had anticipated, the soldier found a series of pits that were hardly big enough to hide in during artillery barrages.
“I would be hard-pressed to describe them as ‘positions,'” he told the AP.
When the brigade came under Russian fire, “soldiers would climb out of pits and start digging in each other’s direction so that there is at least some connection between them,” he said.
But the land was so sandy the defenses would crumble as soon as shells struck them, per AP.
With nowhere to take cover and no means to counter the Russian barrage, the soldiers were forced to retreat, per the news agency.
More than 100 were left dead or missing, including department commanders, platoon commanders, company commanders, and sergeants, the soldier told the AP.
“We lost the entire skeleton of the brigade,” he said.
The brigade was dissolved by Ukraine’s General Staff following its retreat in early April, with commanders saying they lacked the resources to succeed, per AP.
The situation around Chasiv Yar has grown desperate for Ukraine, with Russia dropping glide bombs on Ukrainian positions to devastating effect and outfiring Ukrainian forces by a 10 to 1 ratio.
According to an assessment from The Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces are trying to take advantage of a tactical breakthrough northwest of Avdiivka to create a larger breach and take Chasiv Yar before US aid to Ukraine reaches the front lines.
The ISW said that any redeployment of Russian units to the area would put Ukrainian forces under “increasing” pressure.
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