Fortified road awaiting the Russian offensive in the east in the Ukrainian Donbass

Krasnopillia, Ukraine, April 6, 2022 (AFP) – In military terminology, this is called a “piercing” maneuver. In eastern Ukraine, a national highway crossing the mountainous plain sees itself as one of the main battlegrounds of the approaching Russian offensive in Donbass.

Surrounded by lush forests, connecting Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, this two-lane asphalt road is one of the main roads in the northeast of the country.

Surrounded by the pro-Russian separatist “republics” of Donetsk to the south and Lugansk to the east, and now under the pressure of a steamroller, it is moving into the heart of Donbass, still held by Ukraine. North.

“We’re waiting for them,” says a lieutenant with a big smile and raising a finger in front of a division tasked with reinforcing their position with roadside logs.

– Maintain control of the asphalt – “We will destroy the enemy, fascist Russia, who has come to invade our homeland. It cannot be called otherwise. He who kills with iron dies with iron,” promises the young officer.

He adds, “Western countries will give us more tools that help us to close the skies[to Russian planes]. And victory will be ours.”

Open trenches occupy the perimeter, with bulldozers, artillery pieces, and other more or less buried armored artifacts.

The forests are filled with hideouts and other camouflaged materials that promise the most ominous firestorms.

The fortified route is full of anti-tank obstacles. With the end of winter and the drenched black soil making it difficult for tanks to advance in neighboring fields, asphalt control must be maintained.

After capturing the city of Izium a few days ago, Russian troops were deployed 20 kilometers north of the border towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the capital of the Kyiv-controlled region of Donbass.

For the American think tank Institute for Study War (ISW), “Sloviansk will be the next major battle of the war in Ukraine”.

Halfway between the Russian Izium and the Ukrainian Sloviansk, the village of Krasnopillya, stabilized two weeks ago, forms the front line.

“The Russians are taking action, we know they are preparing to attack,” said a senior official, referring to the proliferation of “frontal” Russian helicopter flights, often synonymous with a large-scale attack.

“We’re ready (…) We’ve prepared some surprises for you,” he says, a veteran who was twice wounded in the 2014 war against pro-Russian separatists who was “about to lose his right leg,” and now walks with authority.

With its fenced Slavic cottages and large wooden windows, Krasnopillya is populated by military personnel, members of the 95th Parachute Brigade, an elite unit with the eagle as its emblem. Are you afraid of the approaching Russian hurricane? The officer replies, “You know the story of David and Goliath…”

Another sign of the impending war, so important to the morale of the soldiers, is the parking of ambulances with red crosses under the trees. Artillery fire shakes the ground and he heads forward with two nurses, one on board.

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