report
As of: 01/12/2023 7:38 p.m
Russian artillery is currently reducing Ukrainian cities like Soledar to rubble. The soldier Aleksej fought there at the front and tells how it feels – in the trenches.
The extent of the destruction can be clearly seen on satellite images. Countless artillery hits have reduced the small town of Soledar in the Donbass to rubble. They have turned trees into charred skeletons, houses into sooty ruins, fields that were once green are frozen crater landscapes. The Ukrainian Aleksej Slobadenyuk fought here. He tried – from the trenches – to stop the Russian advance.
In conversation with the ARD he says:
They currently have an advantage in artillery and are firing an insane amount of ammo. Our positions simply cease to exist. Everything is torn to pieces. No life is left behind. In this way, Moscow is ousting us from our positions and from our country.
One shot every ten seconds
The small town of Soledar is the focus of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Experts are puzzled as to why. It is not of strategic importance. But Russia has not had any military success in Ukraine for a long time, and Russian state media are celebrating Soledar as a major success. For months, Russian artillery has been erasing Ukrainian cities like Soledar from the map like a barrage of fire. Slobadenyuk’s position was also completely destroyed, he says. A projectile hits nearby every ten seconds.
When the artillery is constantly and incessantly firing, it is very difficult to fight – when you are out of position, when everyone is in doubt. That’s very difficult. That’s why the Russians can rip off a little piece of our country every day. One, two, three meters every day.
“Inhuman Conditions”
The Russian mercenary group Wagner is already claiming control of Soledar. But fighting is still evident in some parts of the city. The Ukrainian army says the defense is being maintained. But Slobadenyuk speaks of many dead – including on the Ukrainian side. The conditions in the trenches in eastern Ukraine are inhuman. No food, no drink, no sleep.
All of our water bottles were punctured and shot. The ice in the bottles had melted. We drank that. It was very difficult. It’s inhumane conditions, a huge burden. They are superhumans who can take it. Where the Russians passed, there is no more life.
And then the cold
The cold makes things even harder for the soldiers. Slobadenyuk reports that they can’t warm themselves at night in the trenches – even if they have a stove. They would then be easy for Russian soldiers to spot on thermal imaging cameras. So they must be freezing. Slobadenyuk miraculously survived.
I keep dreaming and thinking about it because so many were killed. The Russians were only ten meters away from us. A grenade exploded just a meter from me in the trenches.
Slobadenyuk fought in Soledar for only five days. Then he got hurt. But he will return to his unit. He doesn’t know any more at the moment. He can only make plans for the future again once the war is won.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
Topic overview
war in Ukraine