“We sometimes fought for ten hours in a row. These were not waves, but a constant attack by the Wagnerites.” CNN spoke to Ukrainian soldiers who had to fight against Wagner’s Russian mercenary army and presented a grim picture of what a day looks like on the front.
Ukrainian soldiers Andriy and Borysych sat for a long time in a cold bunker lit only by candles. For several weeks they were opposed by hundreds of soldiers from Wagner’s army. “Wagner” is a paramilitary formation of Yevgeny Prigozhin, which acts very brutally and recruits prisoners to fight in Ukraine.
“Maybe there were 20 of us, and there were 200 of them. It was hell,” soldier Andriy told CNN. “Wagner’s army began with the first wave of inexperienced soldiers who came straight from Russian prisons.” According to Andrii, these soldiers know little about military tactics and are poorly equipped. “They force a group of about 10 soldiers to reach 30 meters and then start digging in to hold the position,” Andrii says.
A second group soon follows and they also try to gain an additional 30 meters. “That’s how “Wagner” tries to move forward step by step, and in the meantime it loses many people,” says Andriy. Only after the first wave has been exhausted or broken does Wagner, he said, send in more experienced fighters, often from the flanks, in an attempt to capture Ukrainian positions.
Andriy compares the battles with scenes from a movie about zombies: “They literally climbed over the corpses of their fellow soldiers to continue the battle.” Andriy also believes that the soldiers use drugs before the attack, but this information cannot be independently verified.
“We fired the last bullet and then started throwing grenades, but there were too many and we were surrounded.” Only a few soldiers remained standing, but in the end Andriy and Borysych were lucky and Wagner’s battalion retreated.
According to some reports, the Russian army’s communication with Wagner’s group is far from optimal. Andriy also told CNN the story of the soldier Wagner, whom he captured. A soldier-engineer who ended up in prison confirmed that Wagner’s tactics were cruel and primitive. He noted that it was used as cannon fodder.
Despite the suffering, Andriy and Borysych said they are very impressed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Russians may call him a clown, but Zelensky is the leader of the free world right now. Perhaps the best leader on this planet.”
Source : HLN
