By Inna Varenytsia
NEAR VOVCHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian soldiers manning a howitzer in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border are working around the clock to stop an incursion by Moscow troops, and are finally getting the necessary shells .
Ukraine’s defenders were crippled for months by a lack of artillery shells and other weapons as the U.S. Congress withheld billions of dollars in military aid. As Washington lawmakers have argued, Russian forces have strengthened their advantage on the front lines, advancing on the Eastern Front.
With a $61 billion aid package belatedly approved by Congress last month, Ukraine’s gunners say crippling shortages are beginning to ease.
Residents of the northern districts of the Kharkiv region say fighting is more intense than during their previous mission in Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city seized by Russia last year and reduced to ruins after months of fighting.
“We are 24/7, their infantry keeps coming, we keep fighting off their attacks. At least we try to do that. Whenever possible, we take them out,” said Pavlo, a gunner with Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, controls a howitzer.
“Before we were positioned in the Bakhmut region, now we have been transferred here. It is much warmer here. We did not have shells there. Here, at least, we have shells, they have started delivering them. We have something to do with it, to fight.”
Russian forces crossed the border earlier this month and claim to have captured a dozen villages.
The town of Vovchansk, located 5 km inside the border, remains the focal point of the incursion. Ukrainian forces control about 60% of the city and are fighting house to house to repel Russian attacks.
The stakes are high: the capture of Vovchansk would constitute Russia’s most significant gain since the assault was launched. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is 70 km away.
“We see them walking on the road, 5 km from Chebekino,” said Vitalii, commander of the brigade’s artillery unit, referring to a town on the Russian side of the border.
“We see them walking towards their positions on foot. As they move, we of course try to hit them, to inflict as many casualties as possible.”
Officers are reviewing drone footage of Vovchansk, with smoke rising above different neighborhoods, to assess the situation below. Monitors are checked, calculations made.
Two men are responsible for ensuring that the howitzer is well camouflaged – with tree branches.
Vitalii is convinced that the shells will continue to come because everyone is aware of the importance of holding their line.
“Yes, we will receive ammunition because we are facing a large and serious enemy group,” he said.
“If we can demonstrate now that we are capable, in such an extreme situation, of stopping the enemy’s large-scale assault on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region, the enemy will not dare think of attacking kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy or the Poltava region.”
(Writing by Ron Popeski; editing by Stephen Coates)
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