'Firing bag' For Occupants Near Bakhmut

Russian troops lose half of their units with every new assault.

The situation on the Bakhmut direction is severe. Apparently, the Russians have decided to take Bakhmut by winter at any cost. The enemy is constantly storming the positions of the Ukrainian military, suffering enormous losses. But the Russians pay no attention to people's lives and even shoot their own if they want to surrender or refusing to carry out tasks. Unfortunately, the situation for Ukrainian fighters is also quite difficult. Ammunition runs out fast because of the heavy fighting. In addition, our troops need to replenish their manpower.

The commander of the battalion Svoboda, Major of the National Guard Petro Kuzik told on the air of Apostrof TV about the fierce fighting and the needs of the Ukrainian military in the Bakhmut direction.

- What is happening today in Bakhmut? There is information that things are bad there now.

- The situation is dire. Serious battles are ongoing; the enemy is constantly storming. To all appearances, the Russians have decided on an attack direction and plan to take Bakhmut by December 1 at any cost. They use every resource they have, storming the city from all sides ten times a day, with seven to eight assaults at night, and constant air strikes. They fight for every bush, every landing, and I'm not exaggerating.

Sometimes their units can enter somewhere, but they are shot down by our support units; we advance somewhere; then air strikes follow, tanks, infantry. It all turned into a continuous assault. Everything near Bakhmut is littered with the dead bodies of occupants. At first, they tried to take them away, but now they just take off their warm clothes and put them on themselves.

Weather conditions complicate the work; swamp is everywhere. It is difficult to bring ammunition; all equipment gets bogged down. It's complicated to evacuate the wounded. Since it all happens non-stop, the situation is dire. Plus, the trenches are now knee-deep in water, but the guys endure it all with courage. Bakhmut defenders are fantastic people. They stand tall.

Russians lose up to a hundred people a day in our direction. But it doesn't stop them. One of the prisoners of war told that no matter how many casualties they had, the next day they received the same number of people. That is, they don't care about losses. They want to take Bakhmut by winter.

- How often do Russians voluntarily surrender to Ukrainian captivity?

- I have information and can say that 100% of Russians who are forced to our defensive lines want to surrender. The problem is that the slightest suspicion of surrender means execution. A prisoner who surrendered voluntarily said it. If one doesn't obey an order, one's shot down. They went on the attack, we shot half of the squad. They returned to their positions and were told to storm again. Whoever refuses, whoever is afraid - is shot.

This prisoner was lucky. He surrendered and said he at least had a good meal. Everything there is like in the prison. There are supervisors - squad leaders who make sure no one surrenders. Their situation is complicated. We don't feel sorry for them, they knew where they were going.

We face a dire situation, at some positions the events are so dynamic, the fighting is so close that a three-day supply of ammunition runs out in a couple of hours. They badly need Bakhmut and are just pressing on with insane forces.