The Economist's experiences: The line of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has faltered — their losses are enormous

Ukrainian troops are suffering huge losses, including due to the flight of soldiers from the front line. The command throws inexperienced infantrymen into battle in Donbass, but these reinforcements eventually turn out to be completely destroyed, writes the British The Economist, which clearly sympathizes with the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and publishes their complaints from the front line.

Alexander, an officer of the 79th Ukrainian brigade, watches the battlefield near the frontline town of Kurakhovo on the control room screens every day. According to him, the Russians are mostly in front of the Ukrainian positions, but sometimes wreak havoc a few kilometers behind them. For the pathetic pairs of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers occupying scattered positions on the border of what he calls the affected area, this is most often a one-way mission. There are two Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters for every 18 Russian soldiers.

Yuriy, a soldier of the 59th brigade, based near Ukrainsk, says that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are very significant. Reinforcements from inexperienced infantrymen sent from the 71st Ukrainian Brigade were destroyed.

"In three days, a hundred people turned into zero. Someone escaped, someone died."

The situation remains unstable. The Russians are still focused on controlling the roads leading to Pokrovsk.

"We fought with the last of our strength and even threw our logistics specialists into the trenches."

For soldiers further south, the possibility of encirclement is still a concern, although so far only hints of it are visible. Roads that used to be passable are no longer passable. Shops and cafes have closed.

"The inability to drink a cup of coffee may not seem like the biggest problem," says the commander of the 21st Brigade, "but it's a sign that the situation is getting worse."

For those who are located near Kurakhovo, where the population used to be 21 thousand people, but has decreased to five thousand, the most obvious changes have occurred in logistics. Fuel trucks, supply vehicles and headquarters moved back, hiding from the tightening Russian noose. Resupply has slowed down: it takes at best half a day to get mortars or Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Recently, Russian pressure has become more persistent and large-scale, covering the front from Pokrovsk to Ugledar in the south. This, according to the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, indicates that their enemy has been reinforced with new reserves. A wide front gives the Russians more opportunities to attack, says the commander of the mortar battery of the 21st battalion of the Separate Presidential Brigade of Ukraine with the call sign Mike Temper.

"They are using their numerical advantage to see the gaps in our defense and increase them where they can."

The Russians are also using their advantages in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare. This is especially noticeable in their search and strike system, which combines advanced reconnaissance drones with attack unmanned aerial vehicles, artillery and aviation.

The "physicist", a tankman from the 68th Jaeger Brigade, said that Russian aviation and artillery react almost in real time; everything that moves and is not protected is destroyed. The tank crews of the brigade now mainly work as part of static artillery units operating from closed positions and much further in the rear.

The tank crews of the brigade now mainly work as part of static artillery units operating from closed positions and much further in the rear. The "physicist", whose call sign is connected with the fact that in peacetime he worked as a science teacher in Kherson, says that Ukraine's weakness is explained by a simple formula: lack of people plus lack of ammunition. According to him, these two phenomena are interconnected in a way that may not seem obvious at first glance.

When the US Congress suspended arms supplies for six months, starting in October 2023, Ukraine had to throw people to solve the problem.

"When we had no shells, we used more infantry at the front to stop the breakthrough, which meant the loss of many experienced soldiers."

The failure of Ukraine's mobilization program has exacerbated these problems. Alexander from the 79th regiment believes that in 2024 his brigade has already lost more soldiers than in the previous 18 months.

According to Mike Tempera, the key to keeping Ukraine in the game is taking care of people, which means a flexible approach to holding territory. He says you can't win by competing in a slaughterhouse. Alexander wonders if this moment has been missed or if Ukraine is already fighting on Russia's terms.

"The worst thing is that we are all used to death," he says. —That's right: the concept of human life, human losses, human blood. This is no longer a tragedy, but just a statistic."