Lyman Front, Ukraine: Plumes of smoke rising over a lush valley reveal positions in a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.
It caused far less fear in the military administration than a similar attack in the Ukrainian city of Liman a year earlier.
“The past month has been a long day for us,” the 23-year-old said at a secret location near the site of Russia’s main advance in the past few weeks’ war.
“In terms of morale, we are in a difficult situation. All we want is to win as soon as possible.”
Ukraine’s ability to achieve that elusive success in its summer offensive hinges partly on the spirits of soldiers like the administration.
In early June, Russia launched a new offensive on the northeastern side of the crescent-shaped demarcation line, weeks after Ukraine launched its offensive to the south.
Moscow claimed last week to have advanced about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mi) to Lyman – a rail hub that Ukraine recaptured in October.
It appears that the Russians intend to force the Ukrainians to give up their advance on captured towns such as Bakhmut and redeploy troops to defend the Lyman front.
Soldier Admin — a call name that suits his burly body and background as an IT consultant — thinks the momentum is still in Ukraine’s favor.
He said, “Any war is ended by talks, but how can you talk… I won’t use the name we use for them here.”
“So many good young men have either been injured or are no longer with us. They fire on civilians, so how can you talk to them? I think they should be destroyed.”
For Viktoria Tomáševska, Russia’s effort to annex Liman and other destroyed villages further north is filling her with hope.
The 53-year-old former postal worker was selling cucumbers and parsley at Lyman Square, where eight people were killed in a Russian attack two weeks ago.
She recalls with great fondness the day the Russians first entered Lyman in the fourth month of the war.
In a trembling voice, she recalled, “We were waiting for him as if he were a god.”
“And if they enter again, they will not harm us. But Ukrainians, they do bad things.”
After several weeks of brutal fighting the Russians captured Lyman, leaving the surrounding forest a row of stumps and stumps.
Many of the villagers who refused to flee the fighting were Old Russian speakers, who had no grudge about being ruled by Moscow.
This meant that not everyone welcomed the Ukrainian troops with open arms.
These tensions forced fellow vegetable seller Volodymyr Seravatsky to sing in a low voice the virtues of Ukraine’s armed forces.
“So what if the Russians are advancing. They all wish for death. They will come here and die,” he said after casting a furtive glance at Tomáševska.
“If we had the same weapons last year as we have now, they would never have come here,” said the 69-year-old former power plant worker.
Ukraine’s new stockpile of bigger and better Western weapons is doing nothing to change the shape of the front.
But it has lifted the mood for villagers who support Ukrainian troops and are bearing the brunt of the new Russian offensive.
The tiny hut of factory worker Valentina Omelchenko in the village of Zakytne, about 10 kilometers to the north, is far from the Russian army.
A few days ago he saw a missile fly over his house and kill a man in his 30s.
Omelchenko smiles calmly and admits that sometimes he almost feels sorry for the Russian soldiers.
The 53-year-old man said, “They have no idea why they’re fighting. You see the ones we’ve got, they’re a little scared kids.”
Yulia Polyakova seemed equally at ease as she tended to her three live cows on the north bank of the Lyman.
“We hope they don’t reach us,” the 63-year-old said of the Russians.
“But we’ve already conquered our worst fears. Maybe it’s because we’ve gotten used to it, but I don’t know, it feels okay now.”
These glimmers of hope were sorely missing when the Russians, making their greatest advance in these parts of Ukraine a year earlier, were destroying entire towns.
Ukraine’s forces themselves look quietly confident but are at the point of exhaustion.
Captain Rice cast his weary eyes from one soldier to another, trying to find the right words to capture the mood of his brigade.
He staggered slightly and ran his hand over his shaved head.
The Captain finally said, “We are mentally exhausted after 17 months of war.”
“My memory’s gone. I called my wife last night and she asked me about the discussion we had the day before. I didn’t know what she was talking about.”
He paused to take another look at his soldiers.
“I think we are like that,” Rice said.
It caused far less fear in the military administration than a similar attack in the Ukrainian city of Liman a year earlier.
“The past month has been a long day for us,” the 23-year-old said at a secret location near the site of Russia’s main advance in the past few weeks’ war.
“In terms of morale, we are in a difficult situation. All we want is to win as soon as possible.”
Ukraine’s ability to achieve that elusive success in its summer offensive hinges partly on the spirits of soldiers like the administration.
In early June, Russia launched a new offensive on the northeastern side of the crescent-shaped demarcation line, weeks after Ukraine launched its offensive to the south.
Moscow claimed last week to have advanced about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mi) to Lyman – a rail hub that Ukraine recaptured in October.
It appears that the Russians intend to force the Ukrainians to give up their advance on captured towns such as Bakhmut and redeploy troops to defend the Lyman front.
Soldier Admin — a call name that suits his burly body and background as an IT consultant — thinks the momentum is still in Ukraine’s favor.
He said, “Any war is ended by talks, but how can you talk… I won’t use the name we use for them here.”
“So many good young men have either been injured or are no longer with us. They fire on civilians, so how can you talk to them? I think they should be destroyed.”
For Viktoria Tomáševska, Russia’s effort to annex Liman and other destroyed villages further north is filling her with hope.
The 53-year-old former postal worker was selling cucumbers and parsley at Lyman Square, where eight people were killed in a Russian attack two weeks ago.
She recalls with great fondness the day the Russians first entered Lyman in the fourth month of the war.
In a trembling voice, she recalled, “We were waiting for him as if he were a god.”
“And if they enter again, they will not harm us. But Ukrainians, they do bad things.”
After several weeks of brutal fighting the Russians captured Lyman, leaving the surrounding forest a row of stumps and stumps.
Many of the villagers who refused to flee the fighting were Old Russian speakers, who had no grudge about being ruled by Moscow.
This meant that not everyone welcomed the Ukrainian troops with open arms.
These tensions forced fellow vegetable seller Volodymyr Seravatsky to sing in a low voice the virtues of Ukraine’s armed forces.
“So what if the Russians are advancing. They all wish for death. They will come here and die,” he said after casting a furtive glance at Tomáševska.
“If we had the same weapons last year as we have now, they would never have come here,” said the 69-year-old former power plant worker.
Ukraine’s new stockpile of bigger and better Western weapons is doing nothing to change the shape of the front.
But it has lifted the mood for villagers who support Ukrainian troops and are bearing the brunt of the new Russian offensive.
The tiny hut of factory worker Valentina Omelchenko in the village of Zakytne, about 10 kilometers to the north, is far from the Russian army.
A few days ago he saw a missile fly over his house and kill a man in his 30s.
Omelchenko smiles calmly and admits that sometimes he almost feels sorry for the Russian soldiers.
The 53-year-old man said, “They have no idea why they’re fighting. You see the ones we’ve got, they’re a little scared kids.”
Yulia Polyakova seemed equally at ease as she tended to her three live cows on the north bank of the Lyman.
“We hope they don’t reach us,” the 63-year-old said of the Russians.
“But we’ve already conquered our worst fears. Maybe it’s because we’ve gotten used to it, but I don’t know, it feels okay now.”
These glimmers of hope were sorely missing when the Russians, making their greatest advance in these parts of Ukraine a year earlier, were destroying entire towns.
Ukraine’s forces themselves look quietly confident but are at the point of exhaustion.
Captain Rice cast his weary eyes from one soldier to another, trying to find the right words to capture the mood of his brigade.
He staggered slightly and ran his hand over his shaved head.
The Captain finally said, “We are mentally exhausted after 17 months of war.”
“My memory’s gone. I called my wife last night and she asked me about the discussion we had the day before. I didn’t know what she was talking about.”
He paused to take another look at his soldiers.
“I think we are like that,” Rice said.