Anti-Putin Russian paramilitaries join Ukraine’s fight in Kharkiv region

Ukraine has sent reinforcements to reinforce its defense against a Russian ground incursion.

Kharkiv Region:

Peeking from beneath a hat and with his face covered, the Russian fighting for Kiev described relentless battles in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces opened a new front last week.

“The situation is difficult, the intensity is very high, there are fighting almost every ten minutes,” said the mortarman, who identified himself only by his call sign, Winnie.

The soldier is part of the Russian Freedom Legion, a group of Russians who oppose President Vladimir Putin and fight for Ukraine.

Ukraine has sent reinforcements, including the legion and two other units made up of Russian citizens, to bolster its defense against a Russian ground incursion into the northern Kharkiv region that began almost a week ago.

“It’s an unbelievable meat grinder that they’re still (sending) their people into,” Winnie said, describing Russian losses as Moscow’s infantry tries to push deeper into Ukraine. Both sides claim the other is suffering heavy casualties in the war, claims that cannot be independently verified.

Russia’s Freedom Legion deputy commander Maksimilian Andronikov, also known by his call sign Caesar, said Russia’s fighters have become more innovative.

“They have learned the lessons of war and are using very clever tactics,” he said.

One particularly grim innovation has been the expanded use of aerial bombs, which are dropped from planes and typically contain several hundred kilograms of explosives or more. Russia has vast stocks of relatively cheap Soviet-era bombs.

Over the past few months, Russia has managed to make gains on the battlefield by attacking frontline cities and infantry positions with aerial bombs.

“Today four guided aerial bombs arrived, about 500 meters away. I was on the ground and it started vibrating, I was thrown up – and I’m not small,” said Winnie.

WEAPONS SHORTAGE

The Russian attack, which is aimed at the cities of Lyptsi and Vovchansk, north of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv, began last Friday.

The Russians appear to have managed to advance at least several kilometers in some places, one of the fastest advances either side has seen since 2022, the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“The enemy has an advantage in manpower, although he does not have as many vehicles as before,” Andronikov said of the Kharkiv front.

The Russians, he said, were sending noticeably fewer armored vehicles, but were still able to launch several times more artillery shells and FPV drones than Ukraine.

“We feel the deficit. We understand well that if it did not exist, the enemy would not have these successes here or in the Donbass,” he said of the artillery imbalance, a problem felt acutely by Ukraine over the past six months. .

He criticized limits imposed by some Ukrainian allies on the use of their weapons to attack Russia, saying the restriction undermined Kiev’s ability to react on the northern front, where the lines are just kilometers from Russian territory.

Ukrainian soldiers have long complained that the restriction gives Russia a shield, allowing its forces to launch attacks across the border without putting its logistics at risk.

“It’s a problem. There is a whole list of weapons that we received, but until recently we did not have the right to use them on the territory of Russia… with impunity, the enemy is using the fact that Russian territory can not be reached. “

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