Report
War in Ukraine: in the Donbass, 750 meters from Russian forces
Audio 01:37
The remains of a burnt vehicle on the road to Popasna, in the Donbass region, on April 14, 2022 (illustration).
AFP - RONALDO SCHEMIDT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Russia announced on Tuesday April 19 that it had carried out a dozen air and missile strikes in eastern Ukraine, starting, according to kyiv, “the battle for Donbass” feared for weeks.
Report from a battalion on a front line in the Donbass.
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With our special correspondents,
Clea Broadhurst
and
Jad El Khoury
“
We are on the front line.
Here we have two checkpoints.
Our enemies are 750 meters from us.
Aleksandr is the battalion commander on a front line in southern Donbass.
The second phase of the offensive has indeed begun according to him.
“
The last two days, the shelling has become very strong, more and more frequent.
Clearly the Russians are bringing out the heavy artillery.
»
The bombardments are getting closer, the soldiers are getting ready.
Serguey, medical officer of the battalion, hammers every day how to provide first aid care.
“
I teach them how to make bandages, and all the medical basics they need to know.
But also, I show them the routes to evacuate the front if necessary.
I control everything.
If a soldier is injured somewhere, I take care of him until he is evacuated.
»
This seemingly exhausted soldier may be prepared for war, but it still seems insane to him.
“I lost my best friend here a few weeks ago.
It's very hard to realize that I will never see him again.
Civilians experience all of this.
Look at Kramatorsk, at Mariupol… What did they do?
These are just people who lived a quiet life.
»
Now that a new phase has begun, the soldiers on this front line await the Russians, under the echo of the bombardments.
All of our daily, live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
© FMM Graphic Studio
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