Night Moves In Toretsk: Ukraine's 95th Brigade Holds The Line Against Relentless Russian Assaults
Photographer Maryan Kushnir of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service documents the intense fighting under way in and around the besieged city of Toretsk.
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Ukrainian soldiers are fighting to hold defensive positions near the former mining city of Toretsk as Russian forces try to capture more land in the Donetsk region.
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Toretsk has been in the sights of Russian aircraft and artillery. Assault groups of the Russian occupation forces are trying to approach the city but are being held back by Ukraine's 95th Separate Amphibious Assault Brigade.
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The frontline industrial city in eastern Ukraine was said to have been relatively calm until June, when advancing Russian troops stepped up attacks on the area.
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The British-made L119 is a 105 mm howitzer provided by Ukraine's allies.
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The Ukrainian military works on targets based on received coordinates and then hides the cannon so that Russian drones do not detect it.
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Ukrainian soldiers using U.S.-supplied 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launchers provide cover for advanced Ukrainian positions and try to prevent the Russian Army from advancing.
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A belt-fed automatic Mk 19 grenade launcher is loaded.
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Spent shells from the Mk 19 grenade launcher litter the ground.
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It is recommended to move around Toretsk in the dark because daytime movements are easily detected and targeted by Russian kamikaze drones. Although such risks exist at night, they are less than during the day.
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Until recently, Toretsk had escaped the sort of damage seen in other Donetsk settlements close to the front lines. Last month, however, Russian forces began making more serious advances toward the city.
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Toretsk is likely a primary objective for Russian commanders right now, Serhiy Hrabskiy, a retired Ukrainian Army colonel, tells RFE/RL, because capturing it would give Russia control over a wider urban area stretching along the western edges of the Donetsk region.
