On the front lines, Ukrainian troops describe Russia's lethal push in terms of gas, drones, and guilty recruits

 On the front lines, Ukrainian troops describe Russia's lethal push in terms of gas, drones, and guilty recruits

 Ukraine

In light of Russian recovery and Kiev's increasing losses, the front line where Ukraine and its allies had anticipated for summer victory now signifies a dismal, gloomy winter.

"As we like to say in the Army, the plan was good on paper, but we forgot about the trenches," laughed Ihor, the commander of the 15th National Guard. For security reasons, CNN is only using his first name to conceal his identity. He is conversing with CNN at a command post in southern Ukraine, Orikhiv, when he hears uneasy sounds coming from the radio room.

The radio operator cries, "Seriously injured." at him. One soldier was hurt when a Russian drone struck a large gas fuel tank near Russian positions that was being used for heating.

"Begin evacuation, begin evacuation," Ihor says, grabbing the phone. Exit in a little car. Have you already left?

The radio's voice responds. They don't have any vehicle, so they can't flee. Ihor's expression darkens with hopelessness; all he can do is wait in agonized quiet for news.

After a little while, the radio resumed its broadcast. "Already 200" is the military code meaning dead. The soldier is one of them.

"It's over," Ihor declares to his soldiers. "Don't rush. We are unable to assist him. Sergei's 48-year-old corpse will now be kept in a secure location after dark.

He is one of four Ukrainian troops slain that day, and over fifty soldiers were killed in the region that week alone, according to a Ukrainian official in the area.

Russian criminal recruits in waves

Ihor said, "Every accident makes a difference." The morale of all people is impacted. I'm having a lot of discomfort from this.

The winter war is a huge letdown. There are more Ukrainian drones than Russian ones north of Robotin, where heavy combat occurred months ago. Recently, forty of them targeted a Ukrainian trench network in a single day.

Russian criminal recruits are a continual threat to the Ukrainian people; they are well-trained, well-armed, well-supported by armor, and often, they suspect, given a combination of chemicals to augment their assaults. Soldiers from Ukraine played CNN drone video of a wounded Russian man who had both of his legs amputated. Despite the suffering, the man had a menacing look on his face.

The use of gas as a weapon is reportedly a new danger facing those battling in the trapped trenches of Ukraine. Nine incidences involving the dropping of flammable and caustic gas by drones on Ukrainian lines in recent weeks have been reported in the area, one of which resulted in the death of a Ukrainian army doctor, according to CNN. According to the injured troops, drone attacks or conventional fire are utilized after the gas to instill fear.

CNN was informed by a Ukrainian intelligence officer that the material the Russians used was CS gas.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that CS gas, also referred to as tear gas, is a chemical substance used as a riot control measure that causes irritation to the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs, and skin, momentarily immobilizing victims. may prevent you from working. The United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention forbids the use of riot control agents in hostilities.

Although there have been sporadic reports in recent months of Russian forces employing gas on the battlefield, it seems that Orikhiv has seen exceptionally high levels of gas usage.

According to CNN medical sources, two troops who withstood the chemical assault were poisoned. One person told CNN, "Smoke was the first thing I saw." "The gas abruptly caught fire as we were running out of the ditch. There was fire in the ditch. This gas shoots down your throat, burns, blinds, and stops you from breathing. Not even a second was left to us."

"You breathe it in twice, then you can't breathe," said the second soldier.

The males claimed to have had cuts and burns to their necks, lips, and inside of their faces. The scars from their injuries still left a trace of crimson on both men's faces.

The purported use of chemical weapons in combat is just one more example of the brutality that permeates Russia's resurgent territorial claims. Ukraine now has to defend the little progress it has made toward the Sea of Azov, which it had anticipated to make bigger throughout the summer.

Major alterations are occurring, according to Commander Ihor. When the Russians began producing their own attack drones, their quantity surpassed ours. However, they abuse them like toys for kids.

Many Ukrainian troops expressed concern about the huge number of Russians now manning the front. Ihor said, "Generally speaking, more meat means more mincemeat," alluding to Russian generals who would drive their soldiers into the "meat grinder" on the front lines without considering the possibility of losing. However, sometimes the machine makes a mistake. And they've been successful.

CNN managed to get footage of Saw Kai, a Ukrainian drone under Ihor's command, attempting to track down the Russians at a nearby crossroads from inside a tiny bunker near the battle lines. From the trench came two Russian troops with a stretcher, perhaps filled with food. The drone's operator ordered for a mortar strike, but it was ineffective and instead held the drone back to make it visible. Then, maybe as a result of Russian jamming, the drone failed. Extreme cold and traffic congestion may significantly shorten a drone's battery life, soldiers told CNN.

Ihor has several difficulties, including the possibility of Russian drone strikes on its few vehicles, which it uses to evacuate injured people. While a succession of blurry drone photographs show bare tree lines, a wounded Russian soldier rolling in a crater, and a terrain so harsh that any human life appears, the dilemma surrounding US and EU financing for Ukraine is clearly on their minds.