Fighting intensifies in Ukraine's east as Russia steps up offensive action
PHOTO CAPTION: A Swedish-made Archer self-propelled howitzer of Ukraine’s 45th separate artillery brigade fires at Russian positions in the Donetsk region, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, December 16, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian artillery forces fighting near the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut say Russian troops are constantly making offensive assaults as fighting intensifies and Kyiv waits for more military aid from the West.
Ukrainian forces have taken up a more defensive stance in many areas of the snow-bound front after a counteroffensive last year was unable to break through heavily-defended Russian lines in the occupied south and east.
"Now because of the weather, we switched to defensive actions. The enemy constantly tries to conduct offensive actions," said Mykhailo, a fighter for Ukraine's 92nd separate assault brigade.
The Ukrainian General Staff's daily readout on the war with Russia reported 98 combat clashes in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, double the figure given at the end of last week.
Ukrainian forces, it said, were holding the line and inflicting significant losses, repelling attacks on the fronts near the towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and several other smaller eastern settlements.
Mykhailo's unit, which was firing off rounds from a self-propelled howitzer on Tuesday, was focused on counterbattery fire at Russian artillery, mortars, anti-tank cannon, tanks as well as infantry being moved for rotation, the soldiers said.
"Foreign weapons were not designed to work under such weather conditions," Mykhailo said, adding that vehicles were getting stuck in swamps.
"We saw the howitzer skidding while trying to drive out of the positions, it skidded on the ice," he said.
Another of the unit's soldiers, Pavlo, said Ukrainian troops would not be able to move forward unless they received more ammunition and more manpower.
Political wrangling in the United States and European Union has held up two major packages of military and financial support for weeks, although Kyiv has said it hopes the assistance will eventually materialise.
"In order to advance, to move the front line, we need ammunition, we need more man power, we need weapons.
"If the enemy understands that we have zero resources, it can easily put pressure on us. If other countries help us and provide us with ammunition, manpower and weapons, we will be successful.
He said their unit had a shortage of ammunition and that it had been a "while" since they had fired as many as 20 shells in a day.
(Reporting by Inna Varenytsia; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Angus MacSwan)
