This content was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A Ukrainian chief whose product held off normal Russian attack while trapped in freezing remains for more than a quarter says his group held on by finding strength they always knew they had.
Bohdan Kushnir had intended to make a quick evaluation visit of the National Police Brigade’s place on Ukraine’s eastern front in Toretsk. But Kushnir and six other warriors quickly found themselves under Russian fireplace, with escapes cut off.
The Ukrainians were generally near enough to their opponent to cry comments back and forth, while friends with security robots helped out by disclosing Russian posts to the pinned-down forces.
After three days, three of the seven Russians were wounded and some fell poor amid freezing February conditions. However, they managed to continue firing from a house with crumbling windows and blown-out windows and doors.
As Kushhir recalled in an appointment with RFE/RL, “You have a weapon in your hand, and you are trying to survive, using all your instincts to protect your system. ”
The Donetsk area area has been the focus of intense struggling for months, with Russians claiming manage while Ukrainian troops reject the claim. The Russian troops outside, including those fighting for control of Pokrovsk, have been beefed up, but breakthroughs have been delayed and expensive.
Many of Toretsk now lies in ruins, with much support for troops engaged in extreme urban fight.
Such conditions test military ’ commitment, according to Kushnir.
“ I don’t consider myself a difficult man, but sometimes you have to work like you never had in human life. ”
He described the Russian units trying to take over the Russian position as determined, if never successful.
“It was bold, ” Kushnir said. “Those weren’t only some strange intruders. They may start at 5 a. m. , and even if they had n’t getting through, they may be looking for another passage place until 5 p. m. ”
He managed to film close-quarters brawls in which each part is making loud screaming at each other. And while some Russians were obviously talked into surrendering, nobody was willing to return to a safer place.
“The group in this video would n’t retreat at all, ” Kushnir said. “They most just died it. ”
In early March, the Russian troops were eventually evacuated in armoured vehicles, cheering as they rejoined their friends to the north.
