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Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Three meters underground, a network of tunnels and trenches fortified with timber provides a safer spot for frontline fighters to rest and recuperate \u2013 and a deeper position to defend against a potential Russian advance into Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine.\n <\/p>\n
\n Down here in the dirt, it feels far from the capital Kyiv, and light years away from the United States \u2013 where a dramatic flurry of diplomatic activity in the past week means little to those on the battlefield.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe want to believe the war will end, but it doesn\u2019t feel likely anytime soon,\u201d said Viktor, a 53-year-old <\/strong>infantryman in the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade. \u201cHow can we believe (Russian President Vladimir Putin) when there has been so much deception?\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Any hopes of any progress are beginning to fade after Russian officials made it clear that a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky is an unlikely prospect \u2013 despite the Alaska summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump, and the subsequent talks between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Monday.\n <\/p>\n \n On Wednesday, Zelensky said \u201csome compromise\u201d will be needed, but on Thursday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Zelensky is \u201cnot interested in a sustainable, fair and long-term settlement.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Trump appeared to create a justification for Ukraine to take a more aggressive approach to Russia, saying it would be \u201cvery hard, if not impossible\u201d to win a war without attacking the country which invaded, in a post on Truth Social on Thursday \u2013 a shift from previous statements in which he appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war in 2022.\n <\/p>\n \n That change could be helpful for Ukraine, as Zelensky warns that Russia is \u201cbuilding up its forces\u201d and beginning to mobilize troops from the Kursk region into Zaporizhzhia \u2013 contradicting Moscow\u2019s rhetoric on peace.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cRussians are preparing for escalation here, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said Serhii Skybchyk, Communications Section Commander in the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade.\n <\/p>\n \u2018We stand to the last\u2019<\/p>\n \n Preparations \u2013 and offensive actions \u2013 are already underway.\n <\/p>\n \n On Tuesday, Ukrainian brigades carried out a coordinated drone strike on a Russian fuel train in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region \u2013 sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the air for miles around \u2013 in an effort to sabotage the supply lines for a potential Russian advance.\n <\/p>\n \n Building crews are also grafting in the summer heat to erect poles and wires covered with fishing nets \u2013 to cover more than 100 miles of Zaporizhzhia\u2019s roads with anti-drone nets, some made from old-fashioned fishing nets. They\u2019re aimed at protecting the logistics routes for the troops \u2013 as the style of combat shifts from traditional artillery and tanks to the dominance of drone warfare.\n <\/p>\n \n But the fighters say they need much more advanced equipment.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe\u2019re in a technological phase where the \u2018kill zone\u2019 increases almost monthly,\u201d Skybchyk said. \u201cIt used to be about 5-7 kilometers (roughly 3-4 miles) – now it\u2019s up to 30 kilometers. That means we need more long-range weapons, and of course, electronic warfare systems. These things are lacking across every part of the front.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade \u2013 which took part in the assault on the train \u2013 is experiencing the brutality of this war, spending up to two weeks at the front before returning to the rear trenches to regroup.\n <\/p>\n \n Their latest mission took place just hours before CNN\u2019s visit to their makeshift home.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey fired on us from the very beginning of our approach,\u201d said Yevhenii, a 32-year-old infantry squad commander in the brigade. \u201cWe found one enemy, destroyed him. But we could not gain a foothold due to heavy fire.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Out of six in his group, he said one was killed, two were wounded, and two were concussed due to drone attacks, mortars and shrapnel. They were pinned down from 8pm until 5am with \u201cno chance even to stand up or crawl forward.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For career soldiers like Yevhenii, who joined the military at 18, the fight is bigger than this war.\n <\/p>\n \n And any talk of a \u2018peace deal\u2019 which involves ceding the land they routinely risk their lives defending would be quite simply, impossible.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe option to retreat on our own does not exist for us,\u201d said Viktor, a 53-year-old <\/strong>infantryman in the brigade. <\/strong>\u201cWe stand to the last.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n These weary soldiers are also carrying out routine missions to defend the nearby town of Orikhiv, just a few miles from the frontlines, which is caught in the crosshairs of the war.\n <\/p>\n \n Around 800 residents remain – compared to the pre-war population of approximately 14,000 – many of them elderly and unwilling, or unable, to leave their homes.\n <\/p>\n \n Every day, the threat of drones looms over the residents \u2013 an eerie silence hanging over the town as people listen out for the dreaded buzz as they try to collect their pensions from the post office, and secure some provisions \u2013 risking their lives just leaving their homes.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIn the morning, when it hit – I thought that was the end of everything,\u201d said Liudmyla, a pensioner living alone with her two dogs, who felt explosions near her home on Thursday morning.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cDuring the day, it just keeps pounding and pounding. It\u2019s terrifying,\u201d she added.\n <\/p>\n \n The thought of civilians still living in Orikhiv \u201cmotivates\u201d the troops to keep fighting, the officer Skybchyk said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe presence of civilians reflects their trust in the Armed Forces, and that gives us strength,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to let them down. We will not abandon this place.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Back in the dugout, the soldiers try to get some rest before their next mission.\n <\/p>\n \n By trench standards, it\u2019s almost luxurious \u2013 with a well-stocked pantry, makeshift shower, and Starlink internet, plus a TV. A wood stove also keeps them warm through the winter underground, when temperatures can reach -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) or lower.\n <\/p>\n \n They sleep in sturdy wooden bunks topped with small mattresses \u2013 more pleasant than the trenches at the front, but still hemmed in three to a room.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cLife here is comfortable, sort of,\u201d said Yevhenii. \u201cWe just want more freedom, and civilian life.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s safe here. Better than living in a house,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n \n A family of cats also roams the tunnels \u2013 essential members of the team to keep the mice population at bay.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe even have cat food,\u201d Volodymyr, a sergeant in the brigade, said as he prized open the tins to feed them.\n <\/p>\n \n Small pleasures to take the edge off the realities of war \u2013 before the next operation.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou know how we say \u2014 \u201chope dies last,\u201d Viktor said.\n <\/p>\n \n Victoria Butenko and Svitlana Vlasova contributed reporting\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facebook Tweet Email Link Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Three meters underground, a network of tunnels and trenches fortified with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7655],"tags":[332],"class_list":{"0":"post-365402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-russia"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115074092799464125","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Volodymyr,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/08-trenches-volodymyr-with-cat.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orikhiv](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/01-orikhiv-liudmyla.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Tinned](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/05-trenches-tinned-food-trenches.jpg\")
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