The Russian military also concentrated its main efforts on resuming an offensive" in the Sloviansk direction in Donetsk Oblast and shelled six settlements with artillery, the General Staff reported.
Full-scale invasion and national resilience, broadcasted live.
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Russia’s war: a crusade to destroy Ukrainians who chose freedom, a Dance of Death.
Russia shows very little rationality in this war. It is not fought to keep power or to loot some toilets. It is a crusade to destroy those of different faith – Ukrainians who chose freedom. Danse Macabre. The dance of Death.
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Voznesensk after Russian terrorist attack near nuclear plant
this is voznesensk after today‘s russian terrorist attack — a city in mykolayiv region just 30km away from another ukraine‘s large nuclear plant. via @vitalij_kim https://
t.me/mykolaivskaODA
/2199
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Filatyev evacuated due to keratitis from artillery fire, war ends for him.
39/ The war ended for Filatyev a couple of weeks later. "By mid-April, I got dirt in my eyes due to artillery fire … and keratitis started. After five days of torment, due to the threat of losing an eye, when the eye was already closed, I was evacuated."
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Russian withdrawal from Kyiv: a skeptical soldier
At the start of April, the Russian army group attacking Kyiv withdrew. Filatyev's unit was told it was a 'gesture of goodwill' and that peace talks were underway. "I immediately said that is bullshit, no one would have brought them out like that, so the losses [must be] big."
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Soldiers maimed themselves to escape war horrors
33/ Soldiers began to shoot themselves in the limbs or otherwise injure themselves to "get out of this hellhole". "Almost everyone got fungus, some lost teeth, and their skin was peeling." The men grew "angrier and angrier". Some started drinking heavily.
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Dry rations, then none, then shelling after field kitchen arrived
30/ There was nothing to eat but dry rations. Then the rations were limited to one pack per person every 2 days. Then the rations ran out. "After some time, some smart guy upstairs decided to put a field kitchen behind our position … Because of it, the shelling increased."
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Paratroopers endure month of “Groundhog Day” trench warfare and artillery duels.
28/ The paratroopers remained entrenched for the next month. "It was Groundhog Day," writes Filatyev. Ukrainian artillery fired at the Russians, the Russian artillery fired at the Ukrainians, and the soldiers on both sides stayed in their trenches and endured the bombardment.
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Soldiers’ frontline testimonies
"Our air support was almost nonexistent. We just held our positions in the trenches at the front line, not washing, not eating, not sleeping normally. Everyone was covered in beards and dirt, uniforms and boots were falling apart."
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Positions and losses near Mykolaiv and Kherson
27/ They took up positions somewhere on the border between the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. Despite their small numbers, they were spread out over 20km of front lines. The advance ground to a halt under heavy bombardment, with Filatyev's mortar unit losing half its men in a day.