Russian forces have been relentlessly attacking Toretsk, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian troops are fighting for control of the city.
The skeletal remains of blasted-out buildings formed eerie shadows in the full moon light as the Ukrainian forces rushed across the ruined city under the watchful eye of Russian drones.
This city, Toretsk, in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine, is currently at the forefront of the fight with Russia. Burned-out cars were strewn along the road among holes from artillery strikes.
The steamy July night carried the pungent smell of explosives along with smoke and dust from torn buildings. The sole survivors were the 32nd Mechanized Brigade soldiers, who were fighting a losing battle to retain their ground under a fading Russian barrage in an abandoned pharmacy.
The brigade granted us permission to go with them lately so we could see firsthand the devastation of Toretsk and the difficulties Ukrainian forces confront in defending the city. The only guidelines were that we couldn't disclose any precise locations or any operational information that may jeopardize security.
"To survive is the most important task for Ukrainians," stated 28-year-old Maj. Artem Osadchiy, who leads a drone battalion with the 32nd. "This Ukrainian city is to be destroyed by the Russians."
The Russians are winning in that regard.
An arc of devastation that started at the start of the full-scale conflict in February 2022 and has gotten stronger in recent months has been widened by recent advances made by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Long-held defensive positions held by Ukraine outside of Toretsk and inside New York, a smaller town a few miles south, were lost, highlighting the increasing pressure that relentless Russian attacks and destructive aircraft bombardment are putting on Ukrainian soldiers.
Moscow continues to take advantage of the shortage of Ukrainian reserves and the time it takes to train and deploy fresh soldiers to the front, even as Kyiv has increased its attempts to mobilize soldiers to replace the tens of thousands killed or injured in combat.
Military experts and American officials have stated that despite Russia's advances on the front, a significant breakthrough is improbable due to Russia's inability to consolidate its tiny territorial gains into a broader offensive that may weaken Ukrainian defenses as a whole.
It is also uncertain how long Russia can continue to conduct offensive operations at this pace in light of its enormous manpower and equipment losses. A British military intelligence agency said that over 70,000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured in May and June. This number could not be independently confirmed. According to the source, Russia continued to lose 1,000 men per day in July and would continue to suffer heavy losses until August as it carried out its offensive operations.
However, should Russian forces succeed in taking control of the long-standing defensive strongholds in the Toretsk region, they would be well-positioned to advance from an additional front in the direction of Kostiantynivka, which serves as a vital logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in the east.
According to Ukrainian commanders and military analysts, the Russians have been bombarding Chasiv Yar, a city north of Kostiantynivka, for months with the same objective. Additionally, the Russians are pushing hard to cut off the key road that connects Kostiantynivka to Pokrovsk in the south. In recent weeks, they have advanced several miles in that area, undermining Ukrainian defenses.
much if Russia's rate of advancement indicates that it is unlikely to take the other Donetsk region cities anytime soon, those cities would be subject to much more terrifying daily bombardments if it were to move a little distance farther. The potential for hundreds of thousands of civilians to be compelled to evacuate would make the logistics of Ukraine's eastern defense more difficult.
For this reason, Toretsk's defense—like that of Chasiv Yar—is crucial, according to Ukrainian leaders and military experts.
The Toretsk agglomeration took a heavy toll in the early weeks of the war, but the defense held firm. The agglomeration is a collection of mining towns and villages dispersed across undulating hills and interrupted by mountains made of coal mining waste.
The 24th Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, established in 1992, has been stationed in the oldest section of the front for the past year.
"Everything was working, the control posts were good, the dugouts were well organized, and the trenches were deep," senior sergeant Petro Liakhovych, 38, of the 24th Mechanized Brigade's 2nd Battalion, said in an interview.
He declared, "We knew the enemy, how they moved, and how to respond."
However, in May, the 24th was informed that they would be sent to Chasiv Yar due to an increasingly pressing need as the Russians approached the town's damaged doorstep. The 41st Mechanized Brigade, which had been defending Chasiv Yar when the Russians were able to penetrate into its outskirts, would take their place.
Soldiers from the 24th cautioned top commanders not to rotate at such a crucial time, claiming they were already witnessing indicators of an impending attack on Toretsk.
Unit rotations of this kind can provide very dangerous situations. Units need time to acclimate to their new surroundings, and troops have stated that even in cases where they are carried out well, there are moments of extreme vulnerability.
The rotation took several weeks, and by the beginning of June, the 41st had relocated from Chasiv Yar to assume control of the Toretsk region. Now located at Chasiv Yar was the 24th Brigade.
According to the soldiers, the Russians invaded two days after the cycle was finished.
"That we were taken from there was a big mistake," stated Sergeant Liakhovych.
From interviews and public declarations, soldiers from several battalions stated that it was evident almost quickly that the 41st did not know the terrain and was therefore ill-prepared to defend Toretsk. The brigade commander has also come under fire for giving vague orders and taking too long to respond to the shifting danger landscape.
"There were losses in the battalion due to the senseless orders of the senior commander" of the 41st brigade, according to Yevhen Strokan, a senior lieutenant and commander of a combat drone platoon in the 206th Territorial Defense Battalion, whose soldiers were placed under the command of the 41st brigade, in an interview.
In a statement, the 41st Brigade expressed its displeasure at "this incomprehensible and strange campaign to discredit the command of our unit and our fighters," but it did not reply to requests for interviews.
Positions that had held for years fell in a matter of days, according to Roman Kuliak, the deputy commander of the 206th Territorial Defense Battalion, whose soldiers were placed under the command of the 41st brigade. Kuliak also blamed the General Staff, which manages overall war strategy, and the 41st's commander for this.
He posted on social media, saying, "It's already a war axiom — senior commanders overwhelmingly cannot or refuse to objectively assess the capabilities of their subordinate personnel."
Former 206th member Georgiy Tuka, a former minister in charge of internally displaced people and Russia's occupied territories, claimed that too few Ukrainian soldiers had been sent into the Toretsk area and that the 41st had given light infantry units attack orders that were beyond their capacity, resulting in significant casualties.
In the vicinity of Toretsk, the 41st is no longer in command. Though they are overburdened, Ukraine has sent some of its finest troops to attempt to settle the situation. Additionally, soldiers stated that the intense combat might make it more difficult for Kyiv to take the initiative and resume its advance.
In response to written inquiries, the General Staff stated that while it does not comment on operational specifics, the military leadership "always takes into account a reasonable initiative and suggestions of field commanders."
Commanders who "do not manage units and, as a result, lose subordinate personnel, equipment, and territories must bear responsibility for it after establishing the degree of their guilt," according to the General Staff, stated at the same time.
The soldiers from various brigades that are now battling in the area declared that they would let others evaluate what went wrong and concentrate on stopping the Russians from attacking.
According to Bohdan, the deputy commander of an assault unit with the National Police Brigade, Liut, "there has been no pause in the fighting for one month." He thought that the Russians' battle power might soon run out, but for now, all he could do was hang on.
He declared, "Other settlements can live their more or less normal lives while Toretsk is being defended."
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