President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that between 50 to 100 Ukrainians are dying each day as Russia fights to gain control of the eastern Donbas region.
Fierce fighting rages in Severodonetsk,and Lysychansk, in Luhansk, where local officials have accused Moscow of using “scorched-earth” tactics, and of indiscriminate shelling.
Russian forces have launched sustained attacks in Luhansk since the Kremlin’s war machine turned its focus eastwards in April. Ukrainian officials say that essential medical services and supplies are running out.
So far, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold back many Russian attacks on the eastern front. But Ukrainian authorities say they believe Russian manpower and firepower are being deployed from other regions and are now hitting Ukrainian lines with constant shelling.
Some fear the Ukrainian troops on the frontline aren’t necessarily prepared for the brutality of war.
“People who don’t know what war is, are going to fight. They have no idea of what war is all about”, one injured Ukrainian military trainer told Euronews’ international correspondent Anelise Borges, who is in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro.
Andriy, 41, was part of a unit in Luhansk province that lost 80% of its fighters in a Russian attack on March 27. He now faces a year in hospital; his two sons are still fighting.
“We need weapons,” he went on. “If we have weapons but don’t know how to use them, if a person doesn’t know how to control a mortar, one millimetre of error is the equivalent of 10 to 100 metres during the hit. If they don’t know how to shoot, what’s the point in giving them weapons.”
Watch Anelise Borges’ report in the video player above.