2023-05-02 14:20:03
(AFP) Near the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, members of Ukrainian tank units said they were ready for a spring offensive once morest Russian forces.
On a cloudy day, team leader Oleksandr and three other soldiers used a 6-meter-long pole to clean the cannon of a T-72 main tank, Agence France-Presse reported.
Olsander, 41, said that while they hadn’t fired for several days, they still regularly maintained the armored vehicles to make sure they were “ready at all times”.
Ukrainian authorities say they have been preparing for months for a counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of the country’s eastern and southern territories.
“We have to move on because this is our only chance to get home as soon as possible,” Olsandr said breathlessly following clearing a tank donated by Poland.
“It’s only through victory (it’s possible to go home), so we’re waiting for our chance,” he said, as shelling and explosions rumbled in the distance.
Bachemt is regarding 15 km away. Since last summer, the area has been at the heart of the confrontation between the two armies.
In recent weeks, members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, and members of the Russian special forces have entered the center of Bachemt.
The Ukrainian army currently controls only a small part of Bakhmut’s west, while Moscow claims to control regarding 90 percent of the city. The city, which had a population of 70,000 before the war, is now almost in ruins.
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