Soledar is almost shaved. And yet, control of the city remains a priority for the Ukrainian and Russian armies. About forty kilometers from the front, at the last gas station before taking the road to the front, the Ukrainian soldiers who came to refuel give testimony to BFMTV about the hell of the fighting.
“The Russians come, come and come… It seems to be endless. There are even those who advance without bulletproof vests, without helmets. Only when their losses are too great do they stop the assault. If they have a goal, they continue to advance without counting their dead”, says Pétro, a drone pilot in charge of detecting enemy positions.
“This is the bloodiest battle here, in Bakhmout and Soledar, no one can say otherwise,” he shares.
“Everyone knows what to expect”
At this station, Viktor arrived to refuel before returning to the nearest enemy lines. His motivation seems intact and, according to him, it is the case with all of his teammates.
“No one is thinking of resigning. Everyone keeps their posts and does their job. We keep our spirits up: everyone has signed up voluntarily, everyone knows what to expect, that’s why no one backs down,” testifies the soldier. .
A few meters away, other men dressed in uniforms marked with Ukrainian insignia give each other one last hug. They are part of a tank brigade preparing to position itself on the front line. One of them recognizes the hardness of the fight.
“The only problem is the lack of armor because the technique wears out. Of course we have casualties… It’s the war, we can’t avoid that. We will have dead and wounded and there are already many ”, Oleksander resigns, his gaze fleeing from our camera.
The situation remains very vague regarding the fate of Soledar, each side in turn claims full control of this town now deserted by its 10,000 inhabitants and which has become the epicenter of the fighting in Donbass.
Source: BFM TV
