Ukrainians anxious about Russia's advance

As Russia pushes further back Ukraine's defenses in the east, many soldiers and residents living near the fighting zone worry about what comes next.

A Ukrainian T-64 tank hides behind a trench on the outskirts of the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk province, where Russian forces are trying to attack the nearby village of Ivanivske. However, the T-64’s gun has not fired a shot for 72 hours, due to a severe shortage of ammunition.

Ukrainian soldiers say they must wait for orders from above to fire. Ammunition shortages are threatening other units on the battlefield.

Yaroslav, the tank unit commander, said he understood that for Western politicians , the war in Ukraine was something "very distant".

"But this war is happening in my country," he said. "We need weapons. The enemy is much stronger. Without their help, we cannot survive as an independent nation. We will be destroyed."

Russian Lancet drones have repeatedly attacked Yaroslav’s positions in recent weeks. Yaroslav is not optimistic about what might happen if the $60 billion US military aid package fails to reach Ukraine.

Euhene stands at the gate in the village of Ocheretyne, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. Photo: CNN — Euhene stands at the gate in the village of Ocheretyne, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. Photo: *CNN*

Nearby, soldiers operating the US-supplied Paladin artillery system faced a less dangerous situation, as they still had spare ammunition. But their firepower proved weak against the constant Russian attacks.

Unit commander Oleksandr is also not optimistic about the situation going forward. "We have a problem with ammunition shortage. We have artillery shells to use, but we have to try to shoot accurately to save money," he said.

Oleksandr added that the scale of Russia's war is so large, "we may not have enough ammunition".

"I think this year is going to be the worst year of the war. Some units are running out of tanks," said Garrison Foster, a volunteer soldier from the US, expressing his displeasure that the US aid package for Ukraine was blocked in the House of Representatives.

Russian forces are gaining momentum on the eastern front, between the town of Bakhmut, which they captured in May 2023, and the town of Avdeevka, which they captured two weeks ago. Russian forces have also made some gains west of Avdeevka and in the village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut.

Russia has taken control of several villages around Avdeevka, forcing Ukraine to pull back its defenses. However, Russian forces continue to fiercely attack the new Ukrainian defenses.

"I think the mistake of our forces was not to prepare the defensive positions behind Avdeevka. If there had been preparations for the withdrawal of the forces, we could have held those positions for a long time," said a Ukrainian soldier.

Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, admitted on February 29 that some Ukrainian commanders had shown certain shortcomings in "perception and assessment of the enemy situation". This affected the stability of the defense line in some areas. On March 2, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army announced a series of brigade-level commander changes on the eastern front.

In the village of Ocheretyne, near Avdeevka, Euhene, 32, has everything ready to evacuate if the Russians approach.

"We have packed our luggage with clothes and necessities. If the situation becomes serious, the soldiers will inform us. But we don't expect that to happen," he said.

Not far away is Viktor, who is complaining about the constant holes in his roof from shelling. "I just want the shelling to stop," he says.

Viktor said Ocheretyne had been a thriving village before the conflict. “I was married to my wife for 52 years, right there,” he said, pointing to the trenches. On the horizon, artillery shelling continued.

The situation on the battlefield in Ukraine. Graphics: WP

In nearby Zhelanie, some elderly residents eventually decided to evacuate with assistance from a special Ukrainian police unit.

"This house has shaken four times already. It's made of straw and clay. Every time they shelled, I thought we were finished. But the scariest thing was that they came here," said Valentina, 74.

Some residents of Chasiv Yar, near Bakhmut, do not even rule out the possibility of Russia making further advances and taking control of the region. Standing outside an aid distribution point, one man said he wanted peace so he could see his niece who lives in Moscow and his sister in Kaliningrad.

"Half of Russia is my relatives. But I live here alone," he said.

One woman complained about Ukrainian soldiers being stationed near civilians, attracting Russian fire into the area, and the lack of even the most basic services.

“No water, no gas, no electricity, nothing. When we went to get water, the soldiers came and they took it all,” she said.

Despite the efforts of Ukrainian forces, Russian troops continued to advance on the battlefield and artillery fire was getting closer to villages in the east.

Thanh Tam (According to CNN )

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