Fighting Wagner is like a 'zombie movie' says Ukrainian soldier - CNN

Near Bakhmut, Ukraine CNN  — 

Southwest of the metropolis of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers Andriy and Borisych unrecorded successful a candle-lit bunker chopped into the frozen earth. For respective weeks they person been confronting hundreds of fighters belonging to the Russian private subject contractor Wagner throwing themselves against Ukrainian defenses.

Disguised successful a balaclava, Andriy recounts 1 seemingly endless firefight erstwhile they came nether onslaught by a flood of Wagner fighters.

“We were warring for astir 10 hours successful a row. And it wasn’t similar conscionable waves, it was uninterrupted. So it was conscionable similar they didn’t halt coming.”

Their AK-47 rifles became truthful blistery from changeless firing, Andriy says, that they had to support changing them.

“It was astir 20 soldiers connected our side. And let’s accidental 200 from their side,” helium says.

The Wagner mode of warfare is to nonstop a archetypal question of attackers that chiefly comprises earthy recruits consecutive retired of Russian prisons. They cognize small of subject tactics and are poorly equipped. Most conscionable anticipation that if they past their six-month declaration they tin spell location alternatively than backmost to a cell

“They marque the radical – let’s accidental from 10 soldiers – scope 30 meters, past they commencement digging successful to support the position,” Andriy says of Wagner.

Another radical follows, helium says, to assertion different 30 meters. “That’s how, measurement by step, (Wagner) is trying to determination forward, portion they suffer a batch of radical successful the meantime.”

Only erstwhile the archetypal question is exhausted oregon chopped down bash Wagner nonstop successful much experienced combatants, often from the flanks, successful an effort to overrun Ukrainian positions.

Andriy says facing the battle was a frightening and surreal experience.

“Our instrumentality gunner was astir getting crazy, due to the fact that helium was shooting astatine them. And helium said, I cognize I changeable him, but helium doesn’t fall. And past aft immoderate time, erstwhile helium possibly bleeds out, truthful helium conscionable falls down.”

Andriy compares the conflict to a country retired of a zombie movie. “They’re climbing supra the corpse of their friends, stepping connected them,” helium says.

“It looks similar it’s very, precise apt that they are getting immoderate drugs earlier attack,” helium says, a assertion that CNN has not been capable independently to verify.

Even aft the archetypal waves were eliminated, the onslaught continued arsenic the Ukrainian defenders accidental they ran retired of bullets and recovered themselves surrounded.

“The occupation was that they went astir us. And that’s however they surrounded us. They came from the different side. We didn’t expect them to travel from there.

“We were shooting until the past bullet, truthful we threw each the grenades we had and near lone maine and a fewer guys. We were helpless successful that situation.”

They were lucky. Held disconnected until the past moment, the Ukrainian fighters say, Wagner withdrew astatine the extremity of the day.

Andriy’s relationship of Wagner’s attack matches that of a Ukrainian quality study obtained by CNN past week.

According to that report, if Wagner forces win successful taking a position, artillery enactment allows them to excavation foxholes and consolidate their gains. According to Ukrainian intercepts, coordination betwixt Wagner and the Russian subject is often lacking.

CNN reached retired to Wagner Group brag Yevgeny Prigozhin this week astir allegations of maltreatment successful the company’s ranks.

Prigozhin responded successful a connection that was mostly sarcastic successful code via his property service, calling CNN an “open enemy” earlier insisting Wagner is an “exemplary subject enactment that complies with each the indispensable laws and rules of modern wars.”

As helium speaks to CNN, the fields supra Andriy’s bunker reverberate to astir changeless shelling. The whine of outgoing artillery is followed by a distant thud a fewer seconds aboriginal and a fewer kilometers away.

The chatter of tiny arms occurrence erupts arsenic Ukrainian soldiers observe what they judge to beryllium a Russian drone and effort to bring it down.

Andriy’s portion says it captured 1 Wagner fighter, whose communicative is arsenic tragic arsenic Wagner’s tactics are primitive and brutal.

According to a signaling of the antheral being questioned, the antheral is an technologist but had taken to selling drugs to marque immoderate money. He volunteered to articulation Wagner successful the content it would expunge his transgression grounds truthful that his girl would person less problems pursuing her imagination to go a lawyer.

“And erstwhile did you realize, you are conscionable meat?” Andriy asks him.

“At the archetypal combat mission. They brought america to the frontline connected December 28. They sent america guardant past night.”

“How galore radical were successful the group?”

“Ten,” helium answers.

Andriy says helium had told the engineer: “Obviously, you cognize that you volition beryllium killed (in battle). But you’re acrophobic to combat for your state successful your country.”

“He said, ‘Yes, this is true. We’re acrophobic of Putin.’”

Andriy contrasted Russian President Vladimir Putin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who not truthful agelong agone was the country’s starring comedian.

“Our vantage is that yes, we do, we truly tin take the feline whom the [Russians] telephone a clown. But arsenic we tin see, now, this feline is truly the person of the escaped world, astatine the moment, connected our planet.

Andriy, who is from the southwestern metropolis of Odesa and joined up wrong days of Russia’s invasion, says that nary substance however galore much fighters are sent to tempest their positions, they volition resist.

“Most of my guys, they are volunteers. They had (a) bully business, they had (a) bully job, they had a bully salary, but they came to combat for their homeland. And it makes a large difference,” helium says.

“This is the warfare for freedom. It’s not adjacent the warfare betwixt Ukraine and Russia. This is simply a warfare betwixt a authorities and democracy.”