Reportage
Ukraine: in the Donbass, the consequences of the cold on the war
Audio 01:19
Ukrainian mortar fire on the front line near Bakhmout, in the Donetsk region, Wednesday, January 11, 2023. AP - Evgeniy Maloletka
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Ukraine, in the Donbass, fighting continues in Soledar and Bakhmout, between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Clashes taking place in freezing cold right now.
Which leaves traces when it is necessary to hold the lines, as in this armored unit visited by our special envoys in Ukraine.
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With our special envoys on the Bakhmout front,
Aabla Jounaïdi and Boris Vichith
That day, on the Bakhmout front, the thermometer read -15°C.
In the base of the 28th brigade, a wood stove painfully warms the space.
The cold is both the ally and the enemy of the fighter, says Commander Sergei.
We give our soldiers firewood to keep warm.
But the enemy immediately sees the smoke and targets us.
That's why we now use stoves.
The soldiers seek all means to warm themselves.
From NGOs, we received, for example, candles, pocket hand warmers, or special soles.
With a frost conducive to armored manoeuvres, it's time to supply tanks to Ukraine, Commander Sergei's men suggest.
In the meantime, you have to hold on to moving lines and in extreme conditions.
In times of war, conditions are anything but simple.
If like today, it freezes, the ground is hard to a depth of one meter.
To dig the trenches, we must then use special mines.
The machines cannot intervene because it is the first line, they would be blown up immediately by the enemy's rockets.
The fire of the Russian troops is constant.
The brigade doctor assures that despite the many wounded, bruises and colds, the morale of the troops is still good on the Bakhmout front.
►To re-read: Ukraine: in Bakhmout, a boxing club transformed into a refuge for civilians
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