'Russians were waiting for us': Ukraine troops describe tougher fight than expected

The kill zone was where they rode. Timing was incorrect. Many men went missing. They eventually took back the destroyed settlement of Staromaiorske, marking Ukraine’s strongest advance in several days.

A battle along the front in the southeast last week proved to be tougher and bloodier than predicted, according to the troops leading Ukraine’s counteroffensive, with plans going haywire and an enemy that was well-prepared.

“The Russians were waiting for us,” said a 29-year-old soldier using the call-sign Bulat, from a unit sent into battle in armoured vehicles during last week’s assault.

“They fired anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers at us. My vehicle drove over an anti-tank mine, but everything was ok, the vehicle took the hit, and everyone was alive. We dismounted and ran towards the cover. Because the most important is to find cover and then move on.”

As the war enters its third month, Kyiv’s most audacious counteroffensive has proven to be a slower and bloodier struggle than anticipated. These stories of the fight of Staromaiorske, told to Reuters close to the frontline in southeast Ukraine, provide an inkling of why.

“Our mission was planned to take two days. But we couldn’t drive in during the darkness at the right time, for a few reasons. So we drove in later and lost the right moment,” said Bulat.

Kyiv has acknowledged that its campaign is progressing more slowly than anticipated despite receiving equipment and training from Western nations valued at billions of dollars to mount its counteroffensive to reclaim seized territory this summer. Commanders claim that the slow pace is necessary to reduce casualties.

The Russians have had months to lay minefields and construct fortifications. The air superiority that the NATO partners typically demand during training exercises is not present among the Ukrainian attackers.

A 24-year-old Ukrainian marine with the call sign “Dub” said that the Russian defences had established “pre-sighted zones” in preparation for the attack.

“They methodically destroyed the roads. They made pits that prevented driving in and out of the village, even in dry weather. Even walking was quite hard. You can’t use flashlights at night, but you still have to advance.”

Another soldier, using the call-sign Pikachu, said men in his unit “tried our best. We made it.”

“The dismount was not great,” the soldier acknowledged. “We advanced slowly but surely. They were shooting, everything was flying. It was scary, but we moved on. Nobody fell back. Everyone did a great job.

“Many of us who went will never return home.”

(With agency inputs)