Volodymyr Demchenko, a Ukrainian film director turned military officer, says that despite the optimistic statements, fighting in eastern Ukraine continues in the same vein, with a slow but steady advance by Russian forces.

He stated this in a series of posts on his page Twitter that “little by little joyful voices predict the “end of Putin”, the defeat of the Russian army, etc. are beginning to disappear, and it’s nice, although in general, news about Ukraine recedes into the background.”

However, the Ukrainian military says that this is not a tragedy, but simply a “truth of life”.

He says that from inside the fights, the situation looks like a roller coaster: “Hurray! We destroy Russian ammunition depots every day; Oh no! They killed our prisoners!; Hooray! We destroyed their airbase!; Oh no! another village or city was taken from us.”

“You can go crazy like that, and it’s not a metaphor. And in fact, the war continues, as it has since April: the occupiers are slowly but surely advancing along almost the entire front line, except for the south,” says Demtsenko.

He reminds that on Sunday, the first Russian troops entered Bakhmut, the city that was defended by his battalion.

The Ukrainian military is pessimistic about the offensive in the south of the country

“And in the south, where a major counteroffensive was announced, nothing happened and it seems that nothing will happen. I believe that this was a trick to distract the Russians from Donbass and disperse their groups here. It seemed to slow down their advance, but did not stop it,” the Ukrainian military wrote.

He also states that on certain areas of the front, Russian artillery is ten times greater than Ukrainian, and “there are places where our artillery is not there at all.”

“Therefore, if someone says something about parity, spit in that fool’s eyes. Ukraine is still only trying to stop this plague,” he claims.

However, Demtsenko also sees a positive for Ukrainians, noting that the attacks of the Russian infantry “are no longer so massive, because the Ukrainian army inflicted unprecedented losses on it, and this is the holy truth.”

“True, our losses are not much smaller + tens of thousands of dead civilians,” he adds.

What would the Russians seek through attacks on Zaporozhye

The Ukrainian military also states that he is convinced that the Russians started bombing the Zaporizhzhia NPP in order to negotiate a truce:

“They need it, but not now, because significant areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are still under the control of Ukraine – but in the near future, at the end of September, October.”

Demchenko says that he is worried about such a scenario, saying that Europe will be satisfied with the situation, because it will perceive it as a chance for peace.

“A bloody wound will open in the center of Europe, dozens of cities will remain in ruins for years, just like the cities of Georgia,” he warns.

Ukrainian soldiers talk about the lessons of the war started by Putin

“Then the Russians will hold referendums in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Of course, no one will recognize them, but who cares about international recognition these days? International law has been destroyed. In a few years, Russia will claim the liberation of the new republics from Ukraine,” says the military man.

Although he realizes that his message is pessimistic, Demchenko says that he is convinced that the war in Ukraine will lead to the collapse of Russia:

“I think it’s true. But I also see that the price for this is Ukraine and our lives. Our cities are in ruins, families are scattered around the world, tens of thousands of dead and only the beginning.”

“Again, this is not a tragedy – this is an important lesson. For Ukraine, the lesson is that statehood and freedom do not come without a struggle, and for the Free World – that, despite progress and a high level of comfort, the threat of falling into chaos still exists,” Volodymyr Demtsenko concludes his address.

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