"The first blow will be heavy": the Armed Forces fighters are preparing for the offensive in Zaporozhye - The Economist

Now "time for sex, drugs and rock and roll," he explained by a nerve from adrenaline voice. The 36-year-old infantry of the 65th brigade passed 7 kilometers from 60 kg of equipment, with blushing antenna and a large pack of batteries-a vital set for all who work under the sky in the Zaporozhye region full of drones. "It happens," Grisha said. "You can see it. They go-crawl, seek any way out.

" Ukrainian intelligence believes that Russia is preparing a large -scale offensive in Zaporozhye, 30 km from the front. One of the three heavy industry centers of the country remains important for the survival of Ukraine as a functioning state. At the end of 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the whole region belongs to the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that under the control of the occupying troops, only a third of her.

In two months, Russian missiles and cabins destroyed 1500 homes in the city. Representatives of Ukraine warn that 130,000 Russian soldiers can throw it into battle. Not all Ukrainian military consider the offensive in Zaporozhye inevitable. Colonel Alexei Kilchenko, commander of the 3rd Brigade of Operational Purpose of NG "Spartan", said that Russian troops are connected in other areas.

According to him, the Russians planned to throw two divisions (20-30 thousand soldiers) on an initial offensive, but half was sent to the Kursk region in support of a counter-offensive at a Ukrainian speech. "Lembergs", commander of the 118th Brigade, agrees: "They are not ready for impact, but when they will be, the first blow will be heavy. " But new fortifications are being built, which are rings from the regional center.

The work is conducted thoroughly - mine fields, engineering barriers and reinforced concrete structures - unlike a more chaotic picture in the neighboring Donetsk region, which remains the place of the most severe fighting. There, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is moving faster than ever since February 2022. The Russian commanders have mastered the initial mistakes and developed a gloomy formula: drones, Reb, controlled aircraft, ruthless command and one -time infantry waves.

They beat Ukraine where it is weakest, cutting the supply lines and surrounding goals, not struck in the forehead as it was once. It's not easy - they lose up to 1500 soldiers a day in their offensive, which has been going on for a year. But they recruit more than lose. "Listen, they will never have problems with the personnel," said Colonel Hilchenko. "They drive people into debt, loans and make them fight for them. They will not stop. " In Ukraine, on the contrary, personnel problems.

A high -ranking Ukrainian official says he is concerned that by spring the situation can become irreparable. An even greater problem is the quality of recruits. Forest, a battalion commander of the 65th brigade, says that men sent from the army headquarters are now mostly too old or not motivated to be useful. All, with the exception of a few, older than 45 years. "I am sent to boys, 50 plus, with medicinal references that they say that they are too sick to serve," he said.

"Sometimes I seem that I manage a kindergarten, not a combat unit. " In the location of the brigade, recruits undergo combat. This is the last stage of preparation before going to the front in a few days. The latest, who arrived lately, is Gregory, a 51-year-old former worker from Poltava region. He has gold teeth, glasses with diopters +9. Gregory confesses that he was surprised at least because he was enrolled; He did not expect officers to mobilize a half -blind man.

It is difficult for him to walk in a bulletproof vest. But he is already accustomed to treating a firearm. "Everyone can shoot," he says. But I don't get a lot to get into the target. " It is widely recognized that the situation on the front line is more difficult than ever since the first days of the war. Many fear that the significant retreat of Ukrainians may soon become inevitable. So far, the abandoned threat holds soldiers in Zaporozhye concentrated.

They say they remember the atrocities after the Russian offensive and occupation. Resistance experience still matters. Whatever Ukraine is, Russia can be defeated, says Forest. In proof, he makes a February ambush when his battalion alone destroyed a mechanized column of two dozen Russian cars. Chechen, a brigade officer who heads the training of new soldiers, says that he is still determined to fight.

"The distribution of territories to these disgusting people does not guarantee that it will stop," he said, recognizing that less soldiers than ever, share his determination. "It's not even 50 to 50, but 30 to 70," he said. Lemberg describes the situation even tougher. "In 2022, I was ready to tear the Russians teeth. In 2023, I just needed a rest. This year? I was almost spit," he said. Recall that chips from the US and Germany are launching the Ballistic Missiles of the DPRK.