ON THE LINE

Eleven kilometres from the frontline, resting Ukrainian soldiers were smoking cigarettes on benches in the shade outside a military hospital. The constant thud of artillery could be heard in the distance. The city of Bakhmut felt deserted. There was little sense of life – no children, cars, and barely any people. Windows were boarded up. Only a handful of civilians were on the streets.

The soldiers, weary and jaded, described a perilous fight to hold Ukraine’s east. First a relentless bombardment by Russian heavy equipment, quickly followed by advancing tanks and infantry soldiers – whose job it was to “clean up” any Ukrainian troops left standing.

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