For the paratroopers of a Ukrainian airborne brigade, there’s only one way to describe the waves of Russian infantry who are relentlessly pressing the Ukrainian lines in and around this Donbas city: Meat. “First, they throw in the mobilized soldiers for certain death, like meat,” said one soldier who asked not to be identified due to military regulations. “Then, if they break through, the more experienced fighters move in.” With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now in its 11th month, the ferocity of the fighting in Kreminna is matched only by the intensity of the fighting 80 kilometers to the south, in the city of Bakhmut. But according to interviews with Ukrainian soldiers and accounts published on Russian military blogger accounts on Telegram and elsewhere, the bloodshed is no less senseless and relentless. It’s unclear how long it will last, though: One Ukrainian official claims that Kreminna is on the verge of being recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

via rferl: ‘We Fight With Our Brains. They Fight With Numbers’: Ukrainian Paratroopers On The Battle For The Donbas City of Kreminna