A Ukrainian commander whose unit held off daily Russian assaults while trapped in freezing ruins for more than a month says his team held on by finding strength they never knew they had.
Bohdan Kushnir had intended to make a brief inspection visit of the National Police Brigade's position on Ukraine's eastern front in Toretsk. But Kushnir and six other soldiers soon found themselves under Russian fire, with exits cut off.
The Ukrainians were often close enough to their enemy to shout taunts back and forth, while comrades with surveillance drones helped out by disclosing Russian positions to the pinned-down troops.
After three weeks, three of the seven Ukrainians were wounded and some fell ill amid freezing February temperatures. Nonetheless, they managed to continue firing from a home with crumbling walls and blown-out windows and doors.
As Kushhir recalled in an interview with RFE/RL, "You have a gun in your hand, and you are trying to survive, using all your instincts to save your unit."
The Donetsk region city has been the focus of intense fighting for months, with Russians claiming control while Ukrainian forces reject the claim. The Russian forces nearby, including those fighting for control of Pokrovsk, have been beefed up, but advances have been slow and costly.
Much of Toretsk now lies in ruins, with little cover for troops engaged in intense urban combat.
Such conditions test soldiers' resolve, according to Kushnir.
"I don't consider myself a tough person, but sometimes you have to act like you never would in civilian life."
He described the Russian units trying to take over the Ukrainian position as determined, if not effective.
"It was audacious," Kushnir said. "Those weren't just some random attackers. They would start at 5 a.m., and even if they couldn't get through, they would be looking for another entry point until 5 p.m."
He managed to film close-quarters shootouts in which each side is making audible shouts at each other. And while some Russians were apparently talked into surrendering, none was willing to return to a safer position.
"The group in this video wouldn't retreat at all," Kushnir said. "They all just died there."
In early March, the Ukrainian forces were finally evacuated in armored vehicles, cheering as they rejoined their comrades to the west.
