The response of Vikka, a 27 -year -old Ukraine originating from kyiv, to whether the three -day truce has been completed unilaterally by Russia on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is an open mouth laugh. This young woman, a goalkeeper of the national ice hockey and paramedical team on the front line, recounts on Saturday of artillery releases and arrival of drones in the environment of the line that separates the regions of Járkov and Lugansk (Northeast). “The truce is shit,” ditch. Her testimony coincides with that of other military consulted this Saturday like her in a cafeteria near the Izium hospital, a town today in the rear that remained several months in Russian hands for 2022. Also another group, interviewed during a training in a shooting field, considers that the cessation of hostilities has been a mirage.
In general, both foot soldiers and the controls have received a lower activity of both the enemy infantry and artillery or drones. For the first time in days, alarms have silenced in kyiv, the capital, and there have been no bombing of neither of the three nights. But that decrease in the intensity of the Russian offensive cannot be considered as a truce, they coincide. Russia has continued attacking “all kinds of drones, artillery, missiles and infantry” and Ukraine has continued to defend themselves during the three days, a military manager of the Járkov region, Pavlo Shamshyn, recognizes. The Vovchansk area, near the border that separates the two countries, has suffered especially, he adds.
Some uniformed arrive at Izium supported on crutches or cane to be reviewed by the toilets after being victims in the last days of attacks carried out by unmanned devices, increasingly protagonists in the contest. “The intensity of the fire has descended, but the attacks have continued,” adds Alex, 34 and originally from Mikolaiv (as the rest does not offer his last name). Side, 38, Apostille: “Trenguas are only on paper, nothing has changed on the ground.” Some reproduce the gesture of the hockey player when asked about the fire and laugh. The military parade, many of them at rest days, is oblivious to the high -level meeting that at the same time keeps President Volodimir Zelenski in kyiv with the main leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland to try to advance in the path of peace.
A few kilometers east of Izium, a group of military from the 3rd Assault Brigade carry out practices to tear down drones with rifles, coinciding with the third and last day of a unilateral truce of Russia. “We have noticed a certain decrease in the number of wounded and ammunition that came to us, although the number of drones has been maintained. We cannot say that there has been absolute calm,” explains Akusher (gives his nickname of war, as his classmates), 34 years old and originally from the Odesa region, while preparing to listen to the master of ceremonies. Chris, 27 years old and originally from Montana (United States), has been an instructor in the Ukraine War for two years. “I have not noticed many changes (in these three days of high fire). I think it is a great lie, a distraction maneuver (of the Russian troops) to gain time, move troops forward and rearm.
Zelenski rejected from the first moment those three days of truce (May 8, 9 and 10) because he considered it a stratagema to save with peace of mind the fouls of Victory Day, held in Moscow with a large military parade and the assistance of some international leaders, including the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Ukrainian authorities insist that there are, at least 30 the days of cessation of hostilities, something to which the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, refuses.
The military Pavlo Shamshyn recalls the long journey of the non -compliance with Trenguas starring Russia since the current conflict began in 2014, with the clashes in the Donbás region. Therefore, he adds, it should not be surprised that he has not respected that of this May and the one he announced in April, coinciding with the Orthodox Easter. “The only thing we expect is that the West dictates harder sanctions against the Russian energy industry, which slows the financial machinery with which it maintains the war and, at the same time, to deliver more armament to Ukraine,” he reflects when asked by the summit held this Saturday in kyiv.
On the ground, the soldiers maintain their activity outside what happens in the high diplomatic spheres. The training to improve their ability to tear down drones is something routine for what they should happen, explains a spokesman for the 3rd assault brigade. Once the American trainer has explained the basic foundations of two Turkish manufacturing rifles, the practices begin, which are nothing more than shooting the plate with posta ammunition similar to that used to hunt. Before they shoot, they observe Chris’s skill, which shows them how to follow for a few moments the goal for the peephole before pressing the trigger.
The young person from the United States affects that it is about adapting to the new demands of the modern war in which these devices have gained prominence and cause a greater number of victims. “Drones are more dangerous than most vehicles deployed on the battlefield because they are precise and economical, which allows many to deploy,” he says. In recent months, however, a new weapon has multiplied the already many concerns of Ukrainian troops. These are drones with fiber optic cable, which are undetectable to traditional devices and, therefore, immune to electronic war. In that case, it is especially important to be prepared to demolish them, Chris argues.
One by one, half a dozen soldiers are passing and, like the one who strives to kill a pigeon or a partridge, they proceed to the orange album hunting that jumps through the air making the times of drone. When the harsh reality of the war forces them to face one of those devices and fail to tear them down, the instructor asks them to try to shoot protected, for example, by a tree or a wall. In open field, the thing looks worse. Do we throw ourselves to the ground and stay still? Asks one of those present. “First of all, he tries not to become an easy goal,” replies the American while caressing the mustache.
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