Letter from Ukraine: ‘Straight ahead of us are Russian armed forces’

 
On the front line: “Pit”, commander of a unit loyal to Kiev fighting near the town of Mariupol in south-east Ukraine
Adam Nathan15 June 2015

“We can fit 12 men inside this steel box,” says Pit. “When the shelling starts we stay safe, then we come out and fire back from these trenches.”

Pit — his nom de guerre — is a commander in the 25th Territorial Defense Battalion Kyivska Rus, a volunteer unit created in the Kiev region and now part of Ukraine’s armed forces.

We are in the south-eastern Donbass region of Ukraine, on the front line of the country’s defence against an array of Russian regular troops, mercenaries, conscripts and local rebel forces.

Pit points to his left. “Over there are the Cossacks. They are a specific Russian unit with the rebel army structure. They are known for their drinking and lack of organisation. Really, you could say they are anarchists.”

In front of the trenches, built at a cost of £30 million, green agricultural fields stretch out. Pit says that during recent battles they have been “covered with the corpses of Russian conscripts running at our guns”, in tactics more suited to the bloody German-Russian battles of WWII fought on Ukrainian soil.

“To the right are the Chechen mercenaries of Kadyrov,” he says, referring to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, recently given a medal by Vladimir Putin. “Straight ahead are regular Russian forces of the 42nd Division, which controls the Chechens. Sergey Kozlov, a former Russian colonel from Vladivo-stok, commands local rebel forces.”

Pit, 50, is taking me on a guided tour of his defences. He points to a star-shaped patch of grass. “This is a cemetery for German Wehrmacht soldiers from World War Two. We have found their trenches and fortifications as well as helmets and knives. Sometimes, I think we are back in that war.”

To emphasise the point, Pit shows me some of the unit’s ageing weaponry, including a Soviet-era grenade launcher and heavy machinegun. “With these, we take out the Russian T-72 tanks,” he says. “A well-aimed rocket grenade takes out the tracks then we fire exploding rounds at the petrol tanks.”

Ukraine has appealed to the US for more advanced weaponry, but without success. The result is heavy casualties. In the battle for the town of Debaltseve in January, Pit’s unit suffered 70 per cent injury rates and lost 25 soldiers as they fought to prevent the separatists’ attack continuing to the port city of Mariupol, a strategic target for Russia.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, dressed in army uniform as Commander in Chief, surveyed the front line at the weekend, on the first anniversary of the defence of Mariupol.

“War is not our choice,” he said, handing medals to soldiers who took part in the battle. “My peace plan declared a year ago is a basis of the Minsk agreements, which are accepted by the entire world — including Russia — as the only way to settle the situation.”

But a year into his presidency, and despite a four-month “ceasefire”, war rumbles on. At night shelling can be heard just 15km outside the city. Last week, three civilians died in a mortar attack in separatist-held territory north of Donetsk, while Kiev says pro-Russian fighters using heavy weapons killed two Ukrainian soldiers. “When will peace come?” I ask Pit. “Not today”, he replies, wryly sharpening his knife.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in