חיילים אוקראינים אומרים שהמצב בחזית המזרחית קשה אך הם אינם מוכנים לוותר

Ukraine soldiers talk of exhaustion, a perilous shortage of munitions and personal loss as Russian forces take new ground. Reuters traveled along the front line where Ukrainian troops say Vladimir Putin must be beaten back. This is our old position. It is a bit further where the explosion was, just there. 27-year-old Alexey is a soldier in an artillery unit of the 57th Motorized Brigade. He's been stationed in Kupyansk, a city in the Kharkiv region that was captured by Russia in early 2022 and retaken by Ukrainians later that year. Shot. This is ours. Ukraine's full-scale war with Russia has entered its third year. Ukrainian military leaders openly admit that the battlefield situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated. The war has drained the country's ammunition and manpower, and its failed counter-offensive last year sank morale. In April, Reuters traveled along the eastern stretch of Ukraine's 1,000-kilometer front line. We spoke to soldiers in infantry, artillery and drone units. All expressed exhaustion. They described an acute shortage of ammunition and an urgent need to replenish troops. Meanwhile, Russia has continued to batter Ukraine with seemingly endless resources. After securing his fifth term, President Vladimir Putin has also redoubled his war efforts, and Russian forces have made steady advances in recent months. The Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to questions for this report. Ukraine's shortage of artillery shells have become a decisive factor in its struggle to repel Russian advances. 369-3314 at full power. Ready. Shot. Shot. Alexei and his comrade in the artillery unit, Kolsign Sailor, say they all want to fight, but their biggest concern is the acute shortage of shells. There were times when we used 80 shells per day. Our hands got tired. We were physically exhausted. We were tired after discharging and firing at night. But now there is a Russian advance, and Russia has equipment to shell us with. We'd rather get tired than just sit out here hiding. We are shelled and there is nothing to shoot back with. For many Ukrainian soldiers, like this infantryman, with the Kolsign Yehe, continuing to fight is the only choice. I fight for the future of my children. We chose our path, our independence, and we will fight for it. I'd rather we fight, we spill our blood, we defeat our enemies, than our children have to do this in the future. We are battling an enemy that wants to not only take our territory, but to wipe us out. We have to understand this and stand up until the end. The use of drones has exploded during the war in Ukraine. They make it almost impossible for both Ukrainian and Russian troops to move on the battlefield without being spotted from above. Roman oversees soldiers in the 58th Motorized Brigade in the Donetsk region. They have the same drones, we have the same drones. Like now, even going in a recon mission or even going as a sniper group, it's harder than before because while you do it, you always have to keep in mind that someone sees you. At the daytime, the daily drones, at nighttime there are drones with like a thermal vision. One of the most potent weapons has been FPV, or first person view, drones. These drones can be guided to a target kilometers away, and cost as little as $500 to produce. Ukraine plans to produce more than a million FPV drones this year, but soldiers and commanders say that's not enough. Hiori is the commander of a drone company in the 58th Motorized Brigade. I will be honest, one million drones is not enough for a year. We need at least two or three million drones, because we know the enemy has more opportunities, more resources to produce these drones. When the war broke out, Roman thought he might be away from home for a year or two. Now, he thinks the war will continue for at least a few more years. But he says the decision to continue fighting isn't really a choice. It's a question of life or death for his people and his country. And if Russia and Putin prevail in Ukraine, he's convinced no one in Europe will be safe.