As cold sets in, Ukrainian tank units grind away on northeastern front
- Ukrainians hope to capture key highway supplying Russian occupied cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk
- Tank units form a vital part of Ukrainian counteroffensive along the front line in country’s northeast
The motivation to keep fighting the Russians is simple for Viking, a Ukrainian soldier near the northeastern front lines as cold weather and artillery onslaughts bog down both sides. He wants revenge.
“I can say that the hardest thing for me is the death of my friends. I had motivation before … but the anger, aggression and hatred reinforces it,” says Viking, the nom de guerre of the 26-year-old tank gunner.
But despite the heavy losses incurred by the Ukrainian military over nine months of fighting since the Russian invasion in February, Viking and others in his tank platoon remain confident they will win the war.
“We plan to push the Russians to the borders and even further,” he laughs.
His platoon took part in the breakthrough offensive in September that crushed the Russians’ northeastern flank, sending their troops in a desperate flight east over the Oskil River in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
And while the speed of the counteroffensive has since slowed after the Russians reformed their defensive lines, the Ukrainians say they continue to push even as the winter cold sets in – straining supply lines as road conditions and bad weather periodically affect combat.