– When I say “run”, you run after me. Five meters between each. OK? The car is parked under a tree. There is still a long way to go until we get there. But the last bit we have to walk – and run. The place we are going to visit is secret, and the Ukrainian soldiers are doing everything they can to keep it that way. Cars driving to and from, or constant traffic of people in and out, can make the Russian soldiers suspicious. – Is everyone ready? His name is Ihor and he is the commander of the Ukrainian land defense’s 127th brigade near Kharkiv. He looks and acts as if his entire life has been spent in uniform. DECIDED: The instructions from Commander Ihor are not to be mistaken. There’s a reason it’s called “military precision”. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news But in fact it was only after 24 February and the Russian invasion of Ukraine that Ihor left his civilian job and became a soldier. – Keep to the side of the road. If you hear shots, seek cover to the right, he says. War has a steeper learning curve than recruit school. – Run! It is the most dangerous piece. Crossing the road is done in seconds. The speed can be slowed down when we reach the field with metre-high sunflowers. They provide good protection from being seen. The trip continues. Through smooth forest paths and up to a clearing. A house that looks totally abandoned. Windows and doors that have been blown out. Glass and roof tiles crackle under our feet. Two guard soldiers come towards us. But the shoulders are quickly lowered when they see who is leading the little “squad”. We greet with a “fist bump” and go inside. Down the stairs, two floors. Another world awaits there. David vs. Goliath We have moved from an abandoned city above, to a high-tech command center below ground. Here there are computer screens that show where the Russian positions are at any given time. There is a hum of people talking together. Making plans. Here is all the information they have about the various Russian weapon systems gathered in a database. Never before have they let foreign media down here. For several weeks we have been in regular contact with the brigade to gain access. MEETING: The soldiers discuss the strategy in the face of new Russian tanks that have been observed on the front line. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news A war is fought on the battlefield. But it is won by those with the best minds and the smartest solutions. When Russian forces crossed the border between the two countries on the morning of February 24 this year, the battle for Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv and a number of other cities began. But the Russians never quite entered Kharkiv, even though it is only three miles from the border. They were stopped in an intense and bloody battle. Slowly but surely the Ukrainians gained the upper hand. COMMAND: Inside the command center there is both old-fashioned communication equipment and modern monitoring technology. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news The same was also seen elsewhere. Kherson, if you ignore the separatist-controlled areas of Donbas, is the only city of significant size that the Russian soldiers have occupied and managed to hold for months. In some places, Ukrainian soldiers pushed the Russian soldiers completely out of the country. Elsewhere, the Russians are holding their ground, even if they are pushed back. It is the Ukrainian soldiers who are on the offensive. Although there are still Russian bomb attacks on Kharkiv, and although civilians are being killed, they can say they won the battle for Ukraine’s second largest city. As they have also done with the vast majority of other cities. A policeman investigates a woman who was killed outside her home during a Russian attack in April this year. Photo: Felipe Dana / AP An apartment block under attack in Kharkiv in March this year. Photo: THOMAS PETER / Reuters Fire crews try to put out a fire after a rocket attack on a shopping area in Kharkiv in March. Photo: Felipe Dana / AP A soldier stands triumphantly on a Russian military vehicle after a successful battle in Kharkiv in March. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP How is that possible? Against a military power which in terms of personnel is considered the world’s fifth largest? Before the invasion, the tone was different. It was pointed out by a number of analysts how superior Russia would be if they attacked Ukraine. How can the Ukrainian defense forces still be on the offensive after five months of war? There are probably several explanations: Battle morale. Foreign weapons. Poor Russian military leadership. INFORMATION: Here they have gathered information about the various military leaders on the Russian side. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Analysts have also pointed to how the Ukrainians have mobilized and organized themselves. Like here, in the basement. – Dozens who die every day In the 127th brigade, for example, you can find a doctor who taught emergency medicine at the university in Kharkiv before the war broke out. Here are computer engineers, teachers, lawyers and journalists. But also emissions that have registered. With or without a military background, but regardless of where you come from: Everyone has something to contribute. For example, someone with computer skills has created a program that allows the commander to sit at a PC screen and get a snapshot of how the Russian forces are organized. They get drone footage to play alongside information provided by soldiers on the ground. They see when there is movement. They find new goals. “WANTED”: A picture of Colonel Andrei Arkhipov of the 25th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian forces hangs on the wall. He was central to the battle for Kharkiv and is a military leader the Ukrainians would like to get hold of. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news According to the soldiers, this means that the artillerymen can be more accurate when they fire weapons at the Russian-occupied areas. They say it results in fewer civilian casualties and that they can use fewer weapons per attack. More people enter the room. The drone pilots have discovered that there are new tanks on the Russian front. In a short time they gain the position. – Here we collect information about everything. Weapons, range, speed, number of crew, says Maxim. He is a soldier and operator at the command center. Now he and some other soldiers are discussing how to deal with the new tanks. One of them is Jambala. American from Atlanta in the state of Georgia. Drone pilot with a past from the marine infantry. DRONE PILOT: Jambala has come from the United States to contribute to the war against the Russians. He is one of the drone pilots who provides information to the command center. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news The link to Ukraine is the fiancé, who is originally from the country. Jambala has served several times in the Middle East. Now he has enlisted in the 127th brigade. – This war is so different from the wars in the Middle East. Yes, it is really different from everything else. You experience much more here in a couple of weeks than you do during your entire period of service in the Middle East, he says seriously. – You may lose 2-3 men from your brigade there during your entire stay. Here, dozens die every single day, says Jambala, a little thoughtfully. He knows what he is doing is dangerous. The front is long. The battlefield is large. But he knows he wants to stay, even if he could leave at any time. – I think it is better for me and my family that this war ends quickly. Therefore. The plan for the Russian tanks has been laid. Ihor will continue, all the way to the outermost gun position. He will see how it goes with those who have perhaps the toughest job of all: sitting with the binoculars straight away on Russian-occupied areas all the time. We take another route back. The trip takes place at a brisk pace through dense forest. Past bombed-out houses, through a backyard. So on in the car, over plains on bad cart roads. Ihor throws out some Ukrainian glosses that are not suitable for print. We get the same instructions as last time when the car is parked. But this time the trip is longer. And with every step we are getting closer to the Russian front line. Ihor has brought two more soldiers who keep a lookout. But it is quiet. OUTPOST: On the other side of the valley are the Russian forces. This young soldier is in the very first line of defense should something happen. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news The building shakes The road ends on a small hill above a valley. Down at the bottom is a car with a “Z” painted on it, which Russian forces often use as a symbol to signal that they are Russian. Around the car, there are several rockets that have landed and are standing with their tips in the ground. – There is the enemy, says Ihor and points to the other side of the valley. We crouch together and hope the tall grass provides enough cover. – These areas were actually occupied by Russian soldiers not so long ago. We have managed to beat them back. And we are gaining more and more ground, he says. War costs money. There is no surplus of weapons anymore. Every day the Ukrainian army loses soldiers. Ihor is the commander of the 127th brigade. Here he is visiting the soldiers guarding the Ukrainian defense line. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news When the Russians were beaten back, they left behind a stockpile of explosives. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Abandoned Russian gun emplacements characterize the area. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news A trench dug by the Russian soldiers Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Ihor knows that the war in Ukraine, especially after most of the fighting was concentrated in the east, has received less attention. At the same time, the consequences of the war are felt more and more in the rest of Europe. – We understand that you have an energy crisis now. But we still have to thank you for the support. Because we will do everything we can to destroy the Russian forces, he says with his eyes turned towards those who want to occupy his homeland. – Let’s go, says Ihor firmly and stands up. We go back the same way. Squeezed out towards the edge. – Come on. It is not time to relax, says the commander with a smile, but there is a serious undertone. We are to the highest degree at gunpoint. And now with the back. It’s best to get the steam up. While we are sitting in the car, the talk about the relationship starts to get intense. The Russian soldiers have started shooting. We must seek coverage. Ihor turns the car onto its side and two soldiers open a gate that leads into what was once a factory of some kind. We are led down into a cellar. Every time a shell hits the ground, the building shakes. This is “the second front line”, explains Ihor. He estimates that the shells fall about five hundred meters away. It sounds close, but is still at a relatively safe distance. We just have to make sure they don’t see any movement along the road. – This I have trained for all my life. The base we have arrived at is also the abode of the doctor Andrii. On the morning of February 24, he packed the car with his wife and two children aged 2 and 5 and drove over 1,000 kilometers to the border with Poland. He got the family to safety, turned the car around and drove the 1,000 kilometers back together. DOCTOR: Andrii got his family to safety and went back to help with what he does best: emergency medicine. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news When he returned to his hometown, he enlisted as a sanitary soldier. But Andrii is not just a volunteer who wants to contribute. He is a trained emergency physician and taught emergency medicine at the University of Kharkiv. He knows all about gunshot wounds, torn limbs and broken bones. – We learn something all the time. The rhythm of war is constantly changing. And therefore we must be flexible. I feel lucky because we have an experienced commander. My task is to organize other sanitary soldiers, to ensure that those at the front have medical equipment. We also have to make plans for the evacuation of the dead, he says. With a naturalness in his voice that only a doctor on the battlefield can have. Sometimes he is in places where the mobile coverage is so good that he gets to tell his wife and children that everything is fine and that dad is still alive. The base at what the soldiers call the “second front line” is set up so that they can sleep there – if anyone can sleep in the constant drone of gunfire and shelling. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news CLEAN AND TIDY: Someone has hung up a reminder to keep the cellar clean and tidy. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news There is a fairly simple standard on this base. But the soldiers can sit down and take a breather. – Actually, to be honest, it feels like my whole life has been leading up to this point. I understood it the same day the invasion happened. This is what I have trained for all my life, says Andrii. It gets longer between the drones and after a little while the soldiers judge that it is safe to drive us out. Away from the areas of combat. PARKED: A car marked “Z”, indicating that there have been Russian soldiers here, stands like a wreck at the bottom of the valley between the front lines. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news But for Andrii and the others, the war continues. The Ukrainians are still on the offensive here. They have put up more resistance to the Russian war machine than anyone could imagine. Nevertheless, every day new soldiers come home in coffins. On both sides of the front line. See features in Dagsrevyen from the 127th brigade near Kharkiv.
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Ukrainians fight a battle for their country, but it comes at a cost – Urix
