“There was a slight tremor in the marine’s voice as he spoke of the murderous fighting on the east bank of the Dnieper, where he had recently been wounded,” writes the American Journal. “We were sitting on the water at night and everything was shooting at us,” said Marine Maxim. – My comrades died before my eyes – he added.
The Ukrainians have been attacking the Dnieper River in southern Kherson province for more than two months. “The move is the latest effort in Ukraine’s faltering counteroffensive aimed at breaking through Russian defenses in the south and turning the tide of the war,” the NYT writes.
Soldiers describe the mission as “brutal and futile” because “waves of Ukrainian soldiers crashed on the river bank or in the water before they could reach the other side.” In most places there is no room to dig. The first approach is usually swampy islands intersected by streams or grasslands that have become muddy burial grounds filled with water-filled bomb craters.
Soldiers and Marines gave only their first names. They requested anonymity for security reasons, and the commanders declined all media requests to visit military units in the Kherson region.
Several soldiers and marines spoke to reporters because they are concerned about the high death toll and what they say are over-confident reports from officials about the offensive’s progress. Fierce fighting is taking place in the village of Krinki, on the east bank of the river, upstream from the city of Kherson, where Ukrainian troops occupy a narrow area – the only place they have been able to gain a foothold.
“New soldiers coming to the east bank have to step over the bodies of soldiers stuck in the packed mud,” said Oleksii, a veteran who fought in Kringi in October and crossed it several times to evacuate the wounded.
“Some of the dead Marines lay there for up to two months because units failed to recover the bodies due to intense shelling,” said Volodymyr, a subsidiary company commander who attended the funeral of one of his men.
Reports of public servants and President Zelensky speak of victories. But marines and soldiers who were there say these accounts are exaggerated. – No posts. There is no such thing as an observation point or an observation post, Oleksiy said. – It is impossible to set foot there. You cannot move equipment there. It is not even a struggle for survival. He said it was a suicide trip.
Oleksiy said the Ukrainian commanders’ poor preparation and logistics destroyed his battalion. He said the wounded were left behind because of the lack of boats and the brutal conditions were affecting the soldiers’ morale and mutual support.
– Those who go there are not mentally prepared. They didn’t even understand where they were going, added Oleksiy, who agreed to publish the NYT report because of the high loss of life. – I have never seen anything like this in Bagmuth or Solatar – he insisted.
The Ukrainians attack the unnerved Russian commanders, who bring in an airborne division from the Zaporizhia front to reinforce the defense.
Maksym, who was wounded in Krynki in November and recovered in hospital, said Russian airstrikes and tank, artillery and mortar fire were so intense that his platoon was unable to leave the base where the soldiers were sheltering for the first time.
After three men were killed in the raid, the regiment was ordered to withdraw. It turned out to be a chaotic and disastrous retreat. The soldiers came under artillery fire. They managed to reach the shore in the dark, but they had to wait Three hours until they were evacuated by boat.
“It’s a swamp, all the ditches are full of water,” Maxim said, adding: “We have no choice but to try to dig as deep as we can.” He said everyone was injured by then. When the boats arrived, they took only the seriously injured.
As they waited for the next one, Russian planes dropped three bombs on the river bank.
Another boat arrived and picked up five more injured men. Maksym has to wait another 40 minutes for the next boat.
– The left bank was like a refinery. He added that you are not dead yet but you don’t feel alive.
Half of the 10 men in his platoon were dead or missing, he said.