Ukraine war: BBC on the front line as Ukraine attacks Russian trenches

Two weeks since the counter-offensive began, Ukraine is making humble but dependable advancement successful 3 areas of onslaught crossed the 1,000km (620 mile) beforehand line.

Troops are launching probing attacks, portion astir of Ukraine's forces are being held successful reserve, waiting for a large capable opening successful Russian defences to motorboat a main onslaught and effort to recapture onshore successful the southbound of the country.

The warring has been hard, with dense casualties connected some sides, and opposing armies claiming the precocious hand. Ukraine's beforehand successful confederate Donetsk has stuttered, but continues.

The BBC joined the 68th Jaeger Brigade arsenic its combat forces sought to grow their power eastward of the precocious regained colony of Blahodatne.

In their sights were a bid of trenches protecting Russian forces connected adjacent hilltops.

The men of a specialised drone portion drawback cameras, rotation cables and load a pickup motortruck with tins of ammunition, crates of fume grenades and armour-piercing rounds.

Aside from them, there's small motion of beingness successful Blahodatne. Down a lane, the wreckage of 2 heavy armoured American-made MRAP vehicles prevarication stranded, 1 a burnt-out shell. There are much of these mine-resistant vehicles disabled successful the fields beyond.

"Steer wide of those, the Russians support hitting them," we are warned. Russia has made overmuch of the losses of Western-donated tanks and vehicles, adjacent arsenic Vladimir Putin admitted it has mislaid dozens of tanks since the counter-offensive began connected 5 June.

Troops are attacking astatine 3 points: Bakhmut, wherever they are advancing northbound and southbound of the city, which remains firmly nether Russian control; southbound of Zaporizhzhia; and successful confederate Donetsk, wherever a fig of villages person been taken back.

Blahodatne is 1 of those. Another salvo comes successful and the soldiers instrumentality screen successful the cellar of a ruined house.

A ungraded level passageway is lit with lipid lamps, casting brushed yellowish airy down its magnitude to a chromatic and robust stove with 3 sturdy pots atop. Towels bent from a washing line. A unsmooth woody doorway opens and, successful a headscarf, Nina Fedorivna emerges.

She has been surviving down present for the past year. Russian soldiers came by lone once, she says.

She never, for a second, considered leaving the village.

The artillery barrage over, we permission done a lane astatine the extremity of her house. Three Russian corpses prevarication successful a ditch, conscionable beyond Nina Fedorivna's rootlike patch. A motortruck with the Z symbol, which was utilized by Russian forces, sits adjacent riddled with slug and shrapnel holes. The warring present was astatine adjacent quarters.

Throughout the colony roses are successful bloom - but the odor of corpses catches the backmost of your throat.

There's nary clip to hold - the soldiers person an aerial of attraction and purpose. They are intelligibly preparing for something.

They caput east, leaving Blahodatne behind. The two-car convoy is good spaced successful lawsuit of Russian attack. The fields astir are heavy mined, poles with red-and-white ribbon people cleared ground.

As we get adjacent to different abandoned American armoured vehicle, there's an explosion, conscionable missing the wreckage. It is apt from a Russian drone.

I was successful this country backmost successful March. Then, the beforehand lines had hardly moved a fewer metres successful months. Russia was utilizing acold much artillery than Ukrainian forces, who chiefly hunkered down successful trenches waiting for the barrages to end. At the time, a commandant told maine they were conserving their shells for the counter-offensive. On this visit, Ukrainian guns didn't halt for the 2 days I was with the brigade.

The cars velocity connected to a web of trenches hidden successful a enactment of trees. There, institution commander, Senior Sergeant Andrii Onistrat, 49, runs his men done their adjacent ngo - a Ukrainian battle is planned for the adjacent time connected the Russian trenches, 3km (1.8 miles) distant astatine the ft of the debased hills to the south.

In their effort to widen the front, sections of the 68th Brigade volition onslaught from the countryside eastbound of Blahodatne and Makarivka, crossed minefields and straight successful the enactment of Russian fire.

Sgt Onistrat runs done the drone team's connection protocols and targets. The conception loses arsenic galore arsenic 5 drones a day. Tanned and with a superb achromatic grin, helium looks astatine his grim-faced men and gives 1 last order: "Smile - wherefore are you truthful serious? We are winning the war."

Twenty-four hours later, astir of the aforesaid men are successful a sweltering dugout. The onslaught is nether way.

From their surveillance cameras I tin spot 2 armoured vehicles dilatory making their mode done the minefield. Drone aft drone is sent supra the Russian positions dropping fume grenades, creating a fume surface on the Russian-occupied trenches to let vehicles to beforehand and confuse force anti-tank weapons. As I watch, Ukrainian shells repeatedly onslaught the treeline.

Yuri, a young soldier, runs successful and retired of the dugout, changing drone batteries and sending them into flight, portion voices bark orders and people positions crossed the radios. Mosquitoes and horseflies are feasting connected the men, but inactive "Frisbee", from occidental Ukraine, has taken his garment disconnected due to the fact that of the heat.

Their force isn't holding back. As I basal outside, a Russian onslaught lands adjacent capable to propulsion ungraded into the trench. Standing lookout successful wrap-around shades and without assemblage armour is Zheka.

Another Russian ammunition lands adjacent and I deed the ground. I look up and Zheka hasn't flinched. He shouts successful English - expletives directed astatine the Russians - and gives 2 mediate fingers to the air. Salvoes of Grad rockets rainfall down connected Ukrainian positions.

More broadly, the counter-offensive is made much hard due to the fact that of the deficiency of Ukrainian aerial power. The West has promised F-16 combatant planes, but they volition not get until aboriginal this year.

Back extracurricular successful the trenches, different soldier, Yaroslav, explains: "Russian helicopters, Russians jets occurrence astatine each area, each day". He's interrupted arsenic different onslaught lands nearby. "Go to the shelter, bully luck," helium says.

When, connected 3 June, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine was acceptable for the counter-offensive, helium mentioned Russian aerial superiority and warned galore Ukrainian lives would beryllium lost. And truthful it has been for the 68th Brigade.

Sgt Onistrat says this weighs heavy connected him. "The severity of the time depends solely connected 1 happening - the fig of radical we lose. The past week has been highly difficult. We person mislaid a ample fig of people."

On his caput helium wears a ballistic helmet, a size excessively small. I notation it and helium starts to weep. "It was my son's," helium says.

Ostap Onistrat, 20, was killed successful a drone onslaught not acold from wherever we speak, a mates of days earlier the counter-offensive began. He'd been successful the service a year.

His begetter is inactive successful the throes of grief. "A kamikaze drone flew to them and successful information deed him directly. It was intolerable to recognise him. He was buried successful a closed coffin," Sgt Onistrat says.

How does helium spell on, I ask. "I made a commitment. You know, we're present to win. Not to beryllium back, not to escape. I conscionable deliberation that each idiosyncratic present indispensable bash their occupation professionally. There is thing heroic successful it. I conscionable person to decorativeness this job."

When I inquire if he's looking for revenge, helium replies firmly: "Revenge is simply a sin."

"My task is to bring this communicative to an end. I privation to instrumentality portion successful the triumph parade. I privation america to win, and I privation to suffer less people."

We permission the front, the violative inactive nether way. Later, I received a connection telling maine they'd taken the Russian positions.

Returning to the bid post, Sgt Onistrat's car escorting america swerves and comes to a abrupt stop. He, on others, rapidly exit the vehicle. I wonderment if we excessively request to instrumentality cover.

Then I spot what's caught their attraction - cherry trees.

Like kids, they laughter carefree for a infinitesimal arsenic they drawback handfuls of the acheronian reddish effect from the shady branches, arsenic artillery and mortar occurrence continues to hammer Russian positions connected the hillside.