An excerpt:
At night, as the temperature drops, the fighting begins in earnest. The air is filled with the snap of bullets and the low whistle of mortar rounds. Ukrainian and separatist tanks exchange fire from pre-dug positions, the sound of their massive guns distinct over the din of small-arms fire and mortar impacts.
Inside Point 18, plaster falls from the ceiling and the structure hums when rounds skip off the exposed steel of its frame. Some soldiers prepare ammunition for the automatic grenade-launchers and machine guns in the trenches; others smoke and watch Russian TV on their lone 20-inch set.
Though some nights are quieter than others, on average, 7th Company expends more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition a week -- from weapons including Kalashnikovs and the 30mm cannons fired by its armored personnel carriers.
One of the hallmarks of Point 18’s defenses is what the men call “the museum.” In the trench closest to the separatists’ positions is a Russian heavy machine gun made in the 1930s. It is a massive antique the company keeps operational through constant maintenance.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Saturday, August 15. Check this space tomorrow for more of our ongoing coverage. Thanks for reading.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
