The front lines where Ukraine and its allies had hoped for a summer breakthrough now epitomize the bleak, dark winter ahead \u2014 of Russian resurgence and Kyiv\u2019s mounting losses. <\/p>\n
\u201cHeavily\u00a0injured,\u201d the radio operator shouts at him. A Russian drone has hit a large gas fuel tank used for heating in a trench close to Russian positions, leaving one soldier hurt. <\/p>\n
Ihor grabs the handset: \u201cBegin the evacuation, begin the evacuation. Evacuate with a small vehicle\u2026 Did you move out already?\u201d <\/p>\n
The voice on the\u00a0radio replies. They cannot evacuate, as they lack transport. Ihor\u2019s face tightens in frustration \u2013 all he can do is wait for news in agonizing silence. <\/p>\n
Minutes later, the radio crackles again. The soldier is \u201calready 200\u201d \u2013 military code for dead. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s over,\u201d Ihor tells his men. \u201cNo rush. We can\u2019t help him.\u201d\u00a0 The body of Sergei, aged 48, will now be collected after dark, when it is safer. <\/p>\n
He is one of four Ukrainian soldiers killed that day, and about 50 that week in this area alone,\u00a0according to a Ukrainian official in the area. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery casualty makes a difference,\u201d said Ihor. \u201cIt affects everyone\u2019s morale. It is very painful for me.\u201d <\/p>\n
The winter fight is beyond bleak. North of Robotyne, where fierce fighting raged months ago, Ukrainian drones are outnumbered by Russian ones,\u00a0with 40 of the latter\u00a0hitting one Ukrainian\u00a0trench network in a day recently. <\/p>\n
CS gas, a riot control agent also known as tear gas, is a chemical compound that can render people temporarily unable to function by irritating the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs and skin, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The use of riot control agents in warfare is prohibited under the United Nations\u2019 Chemical Weapons Convention. <\/p>\n
There have been periodic reports of Russian soldiers using gas across the battlefield in recent months, yet its use around Orikhiv appears to be abnormally persistent. <\/p>\n
The second soldier added: \u201cYou inhale it twice, then you cannot breathe.\u201d <\/p>\n
The men said they\u00a0suffered\u00a0injuries including\u00a0burns and welts to their face, and inside their mouths and throats. Both men still had redness on their faces, residual signs of their injuries. <\/p>\n
The alleged use of chemical agents on the battlefield marks another sign of the brutality and mendacity of Russia\u2019s renewed fight for the terrain it lost. Ukraine had hoped for greater advances during the summer toward the Azov Sea, yet now must defend its minor gains. <\/p>\n
\u201cColossal changes are taking place,\u201d said the commander, Ihor. \u201c[The Russians] started making their own attack drones and outnumber ours. But they use them badly, like a kid\u2019s toy.\u201d <\/p>\n
The sheer number of Russians now at the front is disconcerting, multiple Ukrainian soldiers said. \u201cUsually, more meat means more mince,\u201d Ihor said, a reference to Russian generals throwing their forces into the \u201cmeatgrinder\u201d of the front line without concern for their losses. \u201cBut sometimes the machine gets it right. And they have success.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ihor\u2019s challenges are legion, and even evacuating the injured puts his limited vehicles at risk from Russian drone attacks. The crisis in US and EU funding for Ukraine is at the\u00a0forefront\u00a0of\u00a0their minds here, as a series of grainy drone images show bare tree lines, injured Russian soldiers lolling in a crater, and a landscape so cruel it seems remarkable any human life emerges from it. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithout support, we won\u2019t make it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n
The front lines where Ukraine and its allies had hoped for a summer breakthrough now epitomize the bleak, dark winter ahead \u2014 of Russian resurgence and Kyiv\u2019s mounting losses. \u201cHeavily\u00a0injured,\u201d the radio operator shouts at him. A Russian drone has hit a large gas fuel tank used for heating in a trench close to Russian <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}