【By Observer News, Wang Shichun】"We are facing a catastrophic shortage of personnel. No one wants to go to war... veterans are still there, but they are exhausted and need reinforcements, but no one is giving them reinforcements. We are also tired. Everyone is fed up with this war."

A commander of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, known by the call sign "Vasily," told an American journalist that due to the Russian offensive, the Ukrainian Army lacks manpower, is exhausted, and the continuous drone warfare has drained the soldiers of both countries. Currently, the Ukrainian Army is extremely short on infantry, and his brigade has not received any reinforcements for eight months. To enter the besieged towns in the eastern front, the last lifeline of the Ukrainian Army relies on an ancient technology with a history of thousands of years: a passage protected by fishing nets.

The Russian offensive continues, and the Russians have entered several key towns in Ukraine, including Pokrovsk (called Red Army City by the Russians) and Kupiansk, and the fighting is still brutal. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian Army is preventing Russia's attempt to break through part of the front lines in the summer, and the Ukrainian Army is struggling, but the Russians are also struggling.

Ukrainian soldiers on the front line

Konstantinovka is one of three frontline towns surrounded by the Russian summer offensive, where the Ukrainian Army is increasingly at risk of being surrounded, allowing the gradual increase in Russian advantages to quickly turn into strategic advantages.

A Ukrainian commander defending the area told CNN that his unit has had no new personnel for eight months, and the front lacks troops, so now they use drones to supply the front-line positions, as vehicles are blocked by the Russians and cannot reach the frontline trenches. Sometimes, two Ukrainian soldiers face more than ten Russian attackers.

Fishing nets cover the roads, and the military and civilians who remain here have to rely on the holes in the middle of the nets to cross the road. These holes are dangerous, as Russian fiber-optic drones can pass through them and attack Ukrainian vehicles on the road.

In the past month, Konstantinovka has entered the range of Russian attacks, and the streets are full of cars hit by Russian drones, with fiber-optic cables used to control the drones scattered everywhere. These communication materials are now defining the war.

The problem the Ukrainian Army faces is a lack of manpower. The commander of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, known by the call sign "Vasily," said he has not received any reinforcements for eight months.

This Ukrainian soldier painfully admitted, "We are facing a catastrophic shortage of personnel. No one wants to fight. For them, the war has already ended. Veterans are still there, they are exhausted and need reinforcement, but no one is giving them reinforcement. We are also tired. Everyone is fed up with this war, and I think other countries are also tired of helping us."

He also said, "A lot of things are not reported or covered up... A serious issue is the lack of communication about the real essence of military problems on the front line. We rarely report to the country. Our country also does not tell the people much."

Remaining infantry sometimes stand guard in pairs, and at dawn or dusk, the Ukrainian special "Babayaka" quadcopter will deliver food, water, and ammunition to the frontline trenches. "We load 10 kilograms of supplies, and the drone can fly 12-15 kilometers, carrying the supplies. Food, ammunition, batteries, radio chargers."

The front line positions are very vulnerable to Russian drone attacks, and mortar teams often have to walk for hours carrying 30 kg of ammunition and equipment to relatively safe locations.

The commander said that the newer Russian drone groups called "Rubicon" are well-trained and professional, and sometimes their drones just need a single thread to entangle the rotors of Ukrainian drones, causing them to crash.

The brigade commander said, "To understand the situation, you have to be there in person. When we say the situation is difficult, no one understands. You have to be in our position. We are tired. Everyone is fed up with this war, and I believe other countries are also tired of helping us."

Moreover, Western media speculate that the Russians will launch a larger-scale offensive. Ukrainian intelligence agencies speculate that North Korea will deploy tens of thousands of soldiers to the frontline of the Ukraine war and export more weapons to Russia to support further offensives. And General Sylsky of the Ukrainian Armed Forces previously stated that the Russians still have at least 160,000 soldiers and a large number of vehicles that have not been deployed in the offensive.

On July 28, Trump announced that he would shorten the earlier 50-day ceasefire period for Ukraine-Russia, only waiting another 10-12 days for a ceasefire. Trump said, "I wanted to be generous, but we really don't see any progress." He stated that he has at least three times thought that Ukraine and Russia were close to a ceasefire, but then Russia suddenly launched another attack on Ukraine. Trump believes there is no need to meet with Putin again.

Since taking office, Trump has already had at least six calls with Putin. He said in July that if Russia does not stop the war, he will impose a 100% tariff on Russia. In addition, the US proposed "secondary sanctions," which means imposing tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil and other exports.

On the 28th, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy praised Trump's announcement of shortening the term of the Ukraine-Russia peace agreement and called it an extremely important statement. Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his efforts to save lives and end this terrible war and reiterated that Ukraine believes that imposing strict sanctions on Russia is key to ending the war.

But on the same day, Zelenskyy admitted that the front line was under attack, saying, "They have not succeeded in advancing. It is very difficult for our soldiers. Everywhere is difficult... but the situation is also difficult for Russia, which is good for us."

This article is an exclusive article by Observer News, and it is not allowed to be reprinted without permission.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7532759216902144563/

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