Business Insider, a US media outlet, offered a rare bit of candor on the Donbass proxy conflict on Monday with an article acknowledging heavy Ukrainian losses in the northeast.
The reporting by way of the UK’s Times of London featured testimony from a Ukrainian fighter identified as “Lemur.”
“We can barely hold the line, let alone move forward,” the soldier confided of Ukrainian efforts in the crucial Kharkov region. “We are losing so many people, there are so many bodies we can’t even bring them all back.”
Russia has made gains in the area after liberated the southern city of Avdeyevka last month.
Crucial to Russia’s success in the region is its air superiority. Moscow has made extensive use of glide bombs which have overwhelmed Kiev’s limited air defense capabilities. With Russia’s defense industry producing the munitions at a steady clip, Russia has been able to overwhelm Ukrainian troops dug in behind ground fortifications.
The newspapers, citing observers, hope for F-16 fighter jets to arrive in Ukraine to enhance air-to-air capability of the Kiev regime, but the much anticipated aircraft from Western backers aren’t expected to arrive for several more months.
While most Western leaders promote continued support for the Kiev regime, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has emerged as a voice of reason, urging negotiations to end the conflict and stem the loss of life.
“If you are in favor of peace and stopping the killing of Slavs, you are Putin's man,” Fico said over the weekend, criticizing the frequent characterization of peace advocates as allies of the Russian president. “If you are in favor of killing and involving the EU and NATO in the war in Ukraine, you are in the right place.”