On the front of the city of Kupyansk, in the incessant din of the bombardments, a column of black smoke rises above the Oskil, the river which separates the western bank controlled by the Ukrainian forces, from the eastern bank, disputed to Russian forces.
“For now, the rain is making it difficult to use heavy weapons everywhere. We can only use tarred roads,” Sergeant Roman Malyna of the Ukrainian forces told AFP, while armored personnel carriers and tanks maneuver in a torrential downpour.
“As it is difficult to advance because of the weather, we are targeting their armored vehicles, their ammunition depots and the groups of soldiers,” he adds.
“Only their bodies will remain behind”
On Friday, Kupyansk military administrator Andriy Kanachevych told AFP that it might take Ukrainian forces ten days to secure the area.
Ukrainian artillery was targeting Russian positions in the woods beyond the east of the town, but a Russian drone was causing concern and capturing attention.
A stream of refugees who had fled the bombarded city advanced over a bridge whose railings were still painted in the red, white and blue colors of the Russians who occupied Kupyansk.
Two Ukrainian soldiers, well equipped – American assault rifle and bulletproof vest – and keeping good morale despite fatigue and the Russian drone flying over the road strewn with debris, also crossed the river.
One of them, who uses the nom de guerre “Mario”, believes it is too early to know when the eastern bank will come under the full control of Ukrainian forces, while expressing certainty that Russian forces will retreat. .
“Only their bodies will remain behind,” he says.
“In general, everything is fine, taking into account the scale of the operation, we have almost no losses,” he told AFP.
Most of Kupyansk, a crucial rail hub previously used by Russia to supply its forces deployed further south on the Donetsk frontline, fell to Ukrainian forces in September during a counter-offensive spectacular.
But a narrow strip in the Kharkiv region on the eastern bank of the Oskil River remains in the hands of Russian forces, preventing the Ukrainians from advancing towards the Russian-controlled Lugansk region that is worth annexing.
“Yes, we have enough men and weapons, but it depends on what will happen on the other side”, according to Sergeant Malyna.
“They try to find the weak points in our line of defense. So they try to attack from time to time using armor and infantry,” he said of the tactics used by the Russian forces.
“Our morale is good. We are ready to fight, but we need more heavy weapons and precision weapons,” added the sergeant, reiterating Ukraine’s appeal to Western countries.
Many civilians have fled a town without electricity and running water, but some have nowhere to go and are dependent on food aid.
Civilians gather around sockets for laptops in the entrances of five-story buildings, recharging tablets and torches.
Most say they are happy that Ukrainian forces are returning to liberate the city from Russian occupation, while acknowledging that the ongoing fighting is devastating.
“Alone with my cats”
Lioudmila Beloukha, 74, was a trapeze artist in Soviet times at the Moscow Circus. “I traveled throughout the Soviet Union and also abroad,” she recalls.
This widow lives alone in a housing estate in Kupyansk. Her sister left for Greece and she had no news of her nephew, who resides on the east bank of the river, for months.
“I’m alone at home, with my cats. Absolutely alone. My kitchen and the balcony windows are destroyed. I have to fix them with plastic wrap because it’s going to be cold. I’m freezing,” she explains.
Mrs. Beloukha received a small food aid distributed by volunteers and does not suffer from hunger but “we have no water, no electricity. Nothing. Not even boiling water for tea”.
