Ukraine’s last eastern strongholds hang on in Russia’s fight for Donbas : NPR

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — In one of the last remaining towns under Ukrainian control in the country's eastern Donetsk region, once a hub of industry, life is becoming increasingly difficult—and dangerous—as Russian troops approach.

Over the past month, local authorities in Kramatorsk have reported dozens of Russian attacks on the city using attack drones, ballistic missiles, missiles and aerial bombs. Homes, gas stations and markets were damaged, as was a nearby power plant, causing power outages.

“Recently, a strike happened in the house next to mine,” said 20-year-old Elena Frolova, who works in a Donetsk clothing store in Kramatorsk. “We all feel that the front is approaching. Your life depends on how our guys behave at the front.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin doubles about the seizure of the entire Donbass of eastern Ukraine, including the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Russia invaded and occupied more than 80% Donbass since 2014. The Kremlin wants to seize the remaining lands either through military force or as part of an agreement to end the all-out war it has waged against Ukraine for nearly four years. Ukraine still refuses to agree to any deal in which its territory would be transferred to Russia. The Trump administration is pushing ahead with a plan that faces resistance from Ukraine and Europe over issues of territory and security guarantees.

Moscow claims its troops have an advantage on the battlefield. The Russian military has also created its own force specializing in counter-drone warfare. area in which Ukraine was the leader.

The fight for the key eastern city

Last week, Russia said its troops had captured Pokrovsk, a small town in Donetsk that served as a key supply route for Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian military claims that this is not true.

Letter On social media, the 7th Air Assault Corps said on December 1 that Russian troops were still mired in urban fighting inside the city.

It took the better-equipped Russian army 18 months to penetrate Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian composer Nikolai Leontovych is based. wrote early drafts of “Shchedryk”, the song that formed the basis of the popular Christmas carol “The Bells”.

Last month, NPR spoke with soldiers from several brigades defending Pokrovsk. At the request of the Ukrainian military, which cites security concerns, NPR is identifying them by name or military code.

“We won’t be able to hold out much longer,” said a drone pilot from the 68th Jaeger Brigade, who uses the call sign “Goose” after Anthony Edwards’ character in Top shooter. “I wish I could be optimistic, but that’s the reality.”

A sky of colliding drones

Gus and other soldiers painted a grim picture of Pokrovsk, a ruined city reeking of smoke and corpses, most of them Russian, the soldiers said. Maxim, who is in the 14th Brigade, said Ukrainian soldiers are significantly outnumbered and that the skies overhead are filled with drones.

“There are so many of them that they can’t even pass by each other – they just collide,” said Maxim.

Soldiers said Russia was using Rubicon, an elite drone unit, in the Pokrovsk area. Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who specializes in defense analysis, said Russia is deploying more drone swarms like the Rubicon and also increasing drone production.

“Ukraine’s advantage in using drones has shrunk significantly over the year,” Kofman said.

Vladimir, a spokesman for the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, said his unit also uses ground-based drones, also known as unmanned ground vehicles, but they have been destroyed by Russian aerial drones. “We're taking a big toll,” he said of remote-controlled cars.

Kofman said Ukraine's political leadership believes the loss of Pokrovsk could affect its influence in negotiations to end the war.

“It depends on the fickle mood of one person in the White House,” he said.

“We don't want to leave”

About 52 miles north, in Kramatorsk, residents are feeling the pressure.

Early last month, Ukrainian Railways suspended services to Kramatorsk and neighboring Slavyansk, the other remaining fortified city in Donetsk. The line was known colloquially as Love Train because he often transported fellow soldiers who went to these two cities to meet their loved ones who had become separated from the front lines.

Markets in Kramatorsk have been repeatedly attacked, including one where 72-year-old Vera Tsarova sells butternut squash that she grows in her garden. A day after one of these strikes, she returned and opened her stall next to a woman who sells camouflage uniforms for soldiers and sparkly jewelry for their visiting wives.

“We don't want to leave, to leave our home, what we built and earned,” Tsarova told NPR. “The Russians need to be pushed back into their own country.”

One customer, a woman with short white curls, interrupted her. “You give an interview, and then there will be another strike here!” she shouted at Tsarova, suggesting that media attention was encouraging Russian troops to attack targets in Kramatorsk.

“They are already watching us,” Tsarova replied, referring to Russian surveillance drones flying in the area. “They see us and will continue to beat us.”

“That’s right,” said another customer, Olga Kasinkovka, 70, a retired trolleybus administrator. “They want to scare us into leaving.” She said she had already been forced to flee her homes twice because of the Russian invasion.

Russian-backed separatists serving as proxies for Moscow seized her hometown of Makeyevka in 2014. She then fled to Konstantinovka, another city in the Donetsk region that until recently was relatively safe. Over the past few months, Russia has reduced Konstantinovka to ruins. The Ukrainian military says it is now so dangerous that only unmanned ground vehicles roam the destroyed streets.

“I’m not one of the faint of heart. I stayed until the very end,” Kasinkovka said. “Now I'm homeless. Homeless at 70.”

Now she is taking refuge in Kramatorsk and feels the threat of a new Russian invasion. She said she has experienced repeated Russian violations of peace agreements in the past and does not believe the Russians will abide by the terms of any agreement.

According to her, if Ukraine is forced to give up territory, the war will not end. “No way,” she said. “Russia will attack again.”

Reporting provided by Polina Litvinova from Kramatorsk and Irina Matviishin from Kyiv, Ukraine.