No Mercy

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By Andrew HardingBBC News, in Predtechyne and Neskuchnoye, Donbas

A Ukrainian soldier drags himself through the long grass, one leg trailing limply behind him. Seconds later, a flash of bright orange and a cloud of white smoke mark The Spot , just a few metres away, where yet another land mine has been triggered.

As a second badly wounded soldier pulls himself up onto the relative safety of a nearby armoured personnel Carrier - Arms flailing like a swimmer trying to cling onto a Lifeboat - as a thick smudge of dark Red Blood marks his agonising progress.

All This Was captured, live, last week, by a Ukrainian army drone hovering overhead on the frontlines south of the Donbas city of Bakhmut. From Above , the cratered minefield looked like it was covered in a haphazard rash of dark brown crop circles.

" Mines are terrifying. They scare me More Than Anything Else , " said Artyom, a 36-year-old soldier from Ukraine's 108th Territorial Defence Brigade. Two Days earlier, two of his colleagues had stood on " petals" - Small , green, anti-personnel mines - That had recently been scattered across a field by Russian rockets.

" Our Guys were experienced. But it's hard to have Eyes Everywhere . Both have leg amputations. One leg each. We have [mine] injuries after every fight, " said Artyom, a trained sapper, explaining That The Rockets enable Russian forces to plant new mines in places That have already been liberated and cleared by Ukrainian forces.

As Ukraine's long-anticipated That some had hoped for - including - and a range of soldiers we've spoken to on different sections of The Frontline have blamed Russian minefields for at least part of That delay.

" Of course, it slows down The Movement of troops, " said The Commander of a nine-man sapper squad with The Call sign Dill . He'd just finished a de-mining mission on the nearby frontlines to The East of The Tiny , ruined village of Predtechyne, outside Bakhmut. He laid out an array of deactivated Russian mines on the ground beneath a tree, taking care to make sure he could not be spotted by Russian drones overhead.

" The Enemy has No Mercy for their own soldiers. They're used as Cannon Fodder . But we're trying to move forwards with the minimum of casualties, " said The Lieutenant Serhii Tyshenko from the 3rd Assault Brigade, speaking from The Shelter of a nearby bunker.

Some Three Hours ' drive further south, across a succession of lop-sided pontoon bridges, Ukrainian sappers crouched by the side of a cratered road, carefully deactivating a powerful anti-personnel Claymore mine That had been hidden near an electricity pole, poised to send shrapnel into infantry or vehicles.

" I hate this job, " said Artyom, a red-bearded former garage mechanic, moments after he'd finished making The Mine safe. There was a whistle, then a boom as a Russian artillery shell hit The Fields nearby.

Over the lip of a nearby hill, Ukrainian infantry were slowly advancing southwards beyond the newly captured village of Rivnopil. Artyom's anger was not just a response to the dangers of minefields, but to the " sly" mentality That he felt must lie behind The Act of laying mines and boobytraps, rather than fighting your enemy " Man To man".

Later, in their temporary base in a cottage several kilometres away, The Soldiers expressed frustration about a lack of mine-clearing equipment, and a shortage of sappers - four of whom had been injured in recent weeks.

But then Artyom showed us a large antenna and brought out a laptop to begin playing recordings of what He Said were recent radio intercepts of Russian soldiers. The expletive-ridden messages appeared to indicate a degree of chaos and low morale.

" Our kamikaze drone hit [Our Own ] car. We have one dead, another injured. Get the [expletive] out of there. "

" The [soldiers] are Running Away . Some of them are Stealing Cars … 50 people have fled. They [expletive] ran away…"

The radio intercept suggested That Russian soldiers were deserting their positions after a Ukrainian artillery bombardment.

" This happens from time to time. In groups of 10 or 20 - [Russian ] people disappear and leave without permission. The Russians realise we can eavesdrop on their communications but sometimes they forget, " said Artyom.

He described himself as a " realist" regarding Ukraine's counter-offensive, believing That too many people " in the media and In Society are in a hurry" and expecting sudden progress.

" I believe the worst option is always possible. The worst is slow [progress], " He Said .

Two Ukrainian fighter jets flew low overhead with a deafening roar, followed by a succession of booms from the frontlines further south. Soon afterwards, we could hear artillery and what sounded like a longer-range HIMARS rocket system pounding Russian positions.

Ukraine's counter-offensive may be slow, and relatively cautious at this stage. But one officer, speaking on background, suggested That this patient approach would soon pay off in dramatic fashion, as long-range strikes destroyed Russia's ability to rearm frontline units, and low Russian morale provided opportunities for strategic breakthroughs by Ukrainian forces.

" You will see this soon, " He Said .

As for the vast stretches of minefields still lying in front of Ukraine's counter-attack - Dill , the sapper squad commander near Bakhmut, was quietly confident.

" We Are learning to improvise and to invent ways to make quick, safe paths through the minefields. But We Are fighting a very vicious enemy, " He Said .

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Source of news: bbc.com