NOSEFirst lieutenant ‘Joker’ in the front line with barbed wire and ‘dragon’s teeth’
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 11:31
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Wessel de Jong
news reporter
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Wessel de Jong
news reporter
The Ukrainian army is building more and more defensive positions. They have been there in the Donbas region for some time, since the beginning of the battle with Russia in 2014. Now positions are also appearing in the northeast, in the Kharkiv province.
The Russian army was expected to gather a force in recent weeks to take over the province. It is estimated that this involves 40,000 soldiers plus 500 tanks and even more armored vehicles.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian army puts the number into perspective. It would mainly be about replacing losses. And according to him, not all of them are combat units. Those 40,000 also include all kinds of care units, such as medical, liaison and maintenance troops.
And the equipment of the Russians is also not very good, according to the army spokesman. The barrels of the guns are worn out, he assumes, because the shelling is decreasing in intensity.
Ghost town
Despite these qualifications, the Ukrainians are strengthening their positions northeast of Kupyansk. It is now a ghost town, but it is interesting as a military target because it is located relatively high and offers an overview of a large area. It is also a railway junction.
On the streets there are almost only soldiers who have some time off. They shop at a local market, where all possible items are sold to make life in the trenches a little easier, such as wellies, pocket knives and repellents against rats and mice. They are a major pest in the underground bunkers.
The new positions are located about five kilometers from Kupyansk, on the eastern side. “The Russians are there, on the horizon. Two, three kilometers away,” says First Lieutenant ‘Joker’. This is the front line, where the Ukrainian and Russian armies are constantly attacking each other.
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NOS
Barbed wire along the front line
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NOS
A trench
The dull sound of artillery and the staccato of a rapid-fire cannon sound from the distance. Somewhere an alarm starts blaring. A new battle could take place in this valley, just outside the heavily damaged Kupyansk.
“This is the front line,” says Joker. “We have just installed barriers here: in five rows there are what we call ‘dragon’s teeth’: pointed concrete obstacles that are connected to each other with steel cables. And around it is barbed wire.” You can see the dragon’s teeth protruding from the flat land for miles.
Yet it does not seem sufficient to stop a large army and hundreds of tanks. “But this is not all,” says Joker. “We know the exact coordinates of this line, so if the Russians wanted to break through here, our artillery would know exactly where to hit them. And this is just the first barricade.” The next hurdle is a few hundred meters away.
In recent nights, invisible to the enemy, men of the 123rd Brigade have dug themselves into the heavy black clay. You reach the fresh trenches via slippery paths.
Slow things down
Four soldiers are just sitting down to a breakfast of bread, sausage and tea. The stove is burning, it is almost homely. But this unit will have to be the first to confront the enemy once the first line has fallen. They don’t have any heavy weapons, just their guns and rocket launchers. Their job is not to actually stop the Russians: all they have to do is slow things down so that the Ukrainian army can bring in heavy artillery. Along a front of 1000 kilometers you do not always have everything you need ready to repel an attack. A little extra time can make all the difference.
Joker: “We are dealing with a powerful enemy who keeps changing their plans. When they find a weak spot, they attack.”
2024-02-15 10:31:22
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