{"id":110918,"date":"2025-05-18T05:35:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T05:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/110918\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T05:35:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T05:35:18","slug":"ukrainian-artillery-crew-sees-no-prospect-of-cease-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/110918\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian Artillery Crew Sees No Prospect Of Cease-Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

To the Ukrainian soldiers facing off with advancing Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, the recent flurry of reports on possible cease-fire talks<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>doesn\u2019t hold much sway, they say.<\/p>\n

Well into the fourth year of Russia’s war on Ukraine, with strikes and counterstrikes escalating in scale and technological sophistication, says one soldier, any real prospect for peace seems remote.<\/p>\n

When asked what he would personally do if a cease-fire was declared, the frontline artillery crew member said, “There won’t be one. Everything indicates that the fight will go on to the end. At a minimum, they plan to capture the whole Donetsk region.”<\/p>\n

He cites the rise in frequency of both Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities — which have ramped up 30 percent in recent weeks, according to Ukrainian officials — and the continued pushes by ground troops to take more Ukrainian territory.<\/p>\n

This combat unit, which operates Zuzana 2 Howitzers, focus on groups of Russian troops and equipment, occasionally targeting command centers, often spotted by aerial drones.<\/p>\n

The team was interviewed by RFE\/RL Ukrainian Service correspondent Maryan Kushnir, who observed their daily routines firing from camouflaged positions, using advanced computerized targeting equipment.<\/p>\n

As Kushnir described their role, “This is long-range artillery. It targets concentrated areas of Russian Army personnel and equipment or a command post. That’s its job in the Kharkiv region. The goal is to prevent Russia from concentrating forces and developing their offensive.”<\/p>\n

One soldier in the unit, named Petro, said, he’d be happy to see a cease-fire take effect but doesn’t believe Russia is seriously interested in negotiations.<\/p>\n

“I want this to end sooner,” he said, “but they only speak in ultimatums, so it’s going to continue for a while.”<\/p>\n

When asked whether he noticed the so-called three-day cease-fire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the anniversary of the end of World War II, the soldier answered, “Yes, there was a mass Shahed drone attack.”<\/p>\n

More recently, US President Donald Trump called for a 30-day unconditional cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine and threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia if attacks do not pause.<\/p>\n

That proposal was advanced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Russia has shown no interest in an unconditional cease-fire, underscored by Putin’s no-show at talks Zelenskyy had proposed in Istanbul<\/strong><\/a> on May 16<\/p>\n

The following day, nine civilians were killed in Ukrainian border city Sumy by a Russian air strike.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RFE\/RL, a Ukrainian soldier named Oleksandr acknowledged that Russian forces have not managed any significant breakthroughs in Ukrainian defenses despite the escalating attacks.<\/p>\n

But, he added, “They failed because their army is corrupt and because our guys sacrificed their lives to stop them.”<\/p>\n