22/ Filatyev worried about likely Ukrainian resistance. "I don’t think that the mayor of the city will come out with bread and salt, raise the flag of the Russian Federation over the administration building, and we will enter the city in a parade column…
Full-scale invasion and national resilience, broadcasted live.
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Soldier fears disastrous column drive into Kherson, blames command
23/ "Kherson is a large city, if we drive there in a column, then we are fucked. I knew our level of preparation and organization and prepared for the worst. How bad must things be in the Ukrainian army that our command decided that we would swoop down on this city?"
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Column advances toward Kherson, sees Ukrainian flags in villages
19/ The column drove on towards Kherson, though more villages flying Ukrainian flags. "These flags were striking and aroused mixed feelings of respect for the courageous patriotism of these people and a sense that these colours now belong to the enemy".
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Artillery unit mistakenly attacked by own side due to communications failure
17/ There were more serious incidents elsewhere. An artillery unit got ahead of the main force and had to turn back. Like many other units, its communications had broken down. With its Z-symbols invisible in the dark, it was spotted and mistakenly attacked by its own side.
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Filatyev and comrades wonder about missing Ukrainian counterattacks
14/ Filatyev and his comrades spent a sleepless night but the feared Ukrainian counterattacks did not come. He wondered if this meant "that things were not so bad and the [Ukrainian forces] were either really doing even worse than we were, or we were now falling into a trap."
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Lieutenant Colonel’s response to Filatyev after casualty incident
12/ The lieutenant colonel, who had blood on his uniform from dealing with a casualty, looked at him. "After a pause, looking now into my eyes and then up the hill, he said, 'I don't know what the fuck that means, get the fuck out of here!'" Filatyev duly got out of there.
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Military convoy stuck in mud in Ukraine
Armoured personnel carriers and heavy trucks loaded with ammunition got stuck in the mud, and more vehicles got stuck when they tried to tow out the stuck ones. The entire column ground to a halt in a highly vulnerable position. In the end, they abandoned the stuck trucks.
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Vehicles break down, abandoned on road due to thawing ground
7/ Their vehicles began to break down. "The equipment was simply abandoned on the road, and its crews sat down with others." The thawing ground, melting earlier in the south than in Ukraine's colder north, proved another obstacle when they tried to drive off-road.
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Russian troops capture Ukrainian position under fire
5/ "They're fucking heavy, what the fuck. I don't need this mortar!" As bullets impacted the ground around him, Russian troops stormed and captured the Ukrainian position. It was only a brief skirmish and the advance soon resumed.
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Filatyev under fire near Kherson, carries weapons despite no mortar knowledge
4/ A few hours after crossing the border, Filatyev's unit found itself under fire from Ukrainians near Kherson. Filatyev had been assigned to a mortar unit, but had the problem of knowing nothing about mortars. He made himself useful by carrying weapons and ammunition.