Yuriy Korpan is 39 years old. He looks 10 years older. With a shriveled and tanned face, the Ukrainian infantryman has just returned from a week of bloody fighting near the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, AFP reports.

Mobilized last August, the father of three young children is fighting north of Bakhmut, which fell under Russian control in May after extremely bloody clashes that began in the summer of 2022.

On the last day of his stay on the front line, “the bombardment began at 4 a.m. with mortars and artillery. Then he calmed down a bit. An hour later, the enemy launched an attack,” Yury Korpan told AFP.

“We opened fire in return. Machine guns, RPG (rocket launchers), grenade launchers, then mortars. In short, the battle began,” continues the man, who worked in construction before the mobilization.

Since the beginning of their counteroffensive in June, the Ukrainians have slowly advanced along the flanks of Bakhmut, at the cost of “fierce” fighting, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in an attempt to repel the enemy and recapture the place. now a ruined city.

“Adrenaline”: your legs and arms hurt after such a hard fight

In battle, “adrenaline rises in the blood, you are still an emotion (…) You are fighting for your life and the lives of your brothers,” says Yuriy Korpan. “You have to be there, in that place. We are stretched like a rope and obsessed with one idea: to destroy the enemy who came to our land.”

“On the battlefield you have to kill,” the soldier repeats.

Does he feel fear? “You are, of course, afraid, but pull yourself together. And when you fight, fear disappears. You don’t have to be afraid in the battle itself, you have to overcome it and clearly fulfill your task. Fear is also an enemy,” he replies.

After the battles, “legs and arms hurt from heavy physical exertion. It takes a few days to recover.”

Ukrainian military personnel from the Gvozdyk self-propelled guns on the Ugledar Front Photo: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

“It’s hard to kill / The Russians have no chance”

On the southern flank of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops are also slowly advancing, especially towards the village of Klishchiivka.

Vitaly Stolyarchuk, 31, a rifle platoon commander, is fighting here.

“Of course it’s scary, only a madman isn’t afraid,” says the soldier, sticking black glasses on his face. “I believe in God and constantly pray to him that I and my brothers come out alive from the battle. You need a cool head and a 360-degree vision,” he explains.

“Killing someone is difficult, taking someone’s life is difficult. The Russians are putting up strong resistance,” but “their chances are slim: after artillery training, we go out and finish the rest,” he says.

“Only novices count Russians killed”

Does the number of enemies killed by him count? “It is impossible and makes no sense,” replies Yurii Korpan. “I did not count the dead Russians! Only beginners do that.”

In this area, Ukrainians are being harassed by Russian anti-personnel mines.

“Usually everything is mined. They (Russians) run away very quickly, leaving their weapons behind. They change their positions during retreat. Inexperienced (Ukrainian) military personnel fall into these traps,” says Vitaliy Stolyarchuk.

According to volunteer doctor Volodymyr Veselovskyi, who works at the stabilization point where first aid is provided to wounded fighters, this type of injury has become more frequent.

“We’ve had a few injuries over the course of a few weeks, caused by me. Levels of injury. One day we had five injured people who later had to be amputated,” he told AFP.

But, according to him, the vast majority of injuries are still related to artillery strikes, especially the terrible Soviet Grad volley fire systems.

“Yariy”, as he is called, leads a battalion of about ten batteries of Grad MLRS, which can fire up to 40 rockets in 20 seconds, covering “an area of ​​400 by 400 meters”.

Ukrainian military Photo: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

“Everything burns and explodes”

“A solid square where everything burns and explodes. It also has a huge psychological impact (on Russians). After several such attacks, sometimes they throw down their weapons and run away in an unknown direction,” he assures.

Less than 2 km from the Russian positions, 27-year-old Masik, a drone pilot, hides in the shade of trees in a short ditch. Above him, in the blue sky, shells regularly whistle and intersect, fired at a distance from artillery positions on both sides.

He says that he is “optimistic” about the Ukrainian offensive. “We must expel the enemy from our country” and “liberate the whole country.”

Vitaly Stolyarchuk, who before the Russian invasion worked as a bartender in the southern port city of Odesa, hopes to return “to our house by the sea” as soon as possible.

In turn, Yuriy Korpan, who communicates with his family “by phone, SMS” whenever possible, dreams of a vacation, perhaps after the summer.

“I hope we will expel this evil from our country to the Urals. And men shall return to their wives, and children to their fathers. And we will rebuild our country,” he says. (AFP report)

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