The Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has been going on for about a month, is moving slowly but effectively, with the Ukrainians able to capture some prepared Russian strongholds. Russian trenches were deep, well prepared and well defended. However, the Ukrainian soldiers found in them are uncomfortable in the abandoned enemy positions.
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They don’t have time to drink “victory” tea
“It’s not very pleasant,” Maksim, 36, a soldier in Ukraine’s 36th Marine Regiment, told the NYT of the piles of trash and “legions” of dirty socks the Russians left in the trenches. Among these “treasures” he found several rifle bullets and took them as a talisman.
He found a Russian tea box, made especially for the army, with the words “For Victory” written on it. “They don’t have time to drink it,” Maxim told The New York Times.
Soldiers’ personal belongings were in the Russian trenches
Carefully dug trenches contain discarded clothing, bulletproof vests, leftover food, used tea bags, a bottle of Siberian berry syrup and other items.
Trenches left by the Russians. Bird’s eye view
The mountains of trash and piles of clothes were only the tip of the iceberg, because in the trenches Ukrainians found a nasty surprise: the unearthed bodies of dead soldiers, some already decomposed, and swarms of flies flying above them, not to mention the smell. The Russians did not remove or bury them, but left them in situ.
In some places only skeletons remained. In the village of Novodarovka in the Zaporizhia region, Ukrainians found the remains of seven soldiers. They are said to have been there since April 2022.
Source: nytimes.com