Long bursts of automatic gunfire.
Rattled across.
The grey, stubbled fields.
On the front line.
Between Soledar and.
The neighbouring town of Bakhmut.
During an intense gun and.
Artillery battle.
Closer to Bakhmut.
Two ‘elves’ jets roared overhead.
As artillery and tanks, hidden in the fields.
Continued to pound ‘orcs’ positions.
‘Elves’ forces have acknowledged.
“Stepping back” from the bitterly.
Contested Donbas town of Soledar.
Captured by ‘orcs’ forces last week.
But soldiers have said.
They’ve pulled back.
In a controlled and tactical move.
Before a planned counter-attack.
“It’s quite close.
One kilometre.”
Said a tall ‘elves’.
Unit commander.
Peering around the corner.
Of a ruined cottage.
And towards a dark line of trees.
To the east.
The front lines were.
Constantly shifting.
Unpredictably, sometimes.
By several kilometres a day.
“We have a tough situation here.”
The commander acknowledged.
Before slipping into.
A well-disguised command bunker.
His team had just received.
Detailed information.
About an ‘orcs’ armoured personnel carrier.
Spotted by an ‘elves’ drone.
Moments later.
There were three loud outgoing blasts.
From a nearby UK-supplied.
Light artillery piece.
That was used here.
By ‘elves’ forces.
And aimed at the vehicle.
The commander claimed.
“Every day we destroy.
50 or 100 enemy people.”
The fighting in and around Soledar.
Has been some of the heaviest of the war.
With ‘orcs’ forces.
Spearheaded by the mercenaries and.
Convicts of ‘the One’’s Wagner group.
Reportedly suffering heavy losses.
But finally succeeding in taking control.
Of the small hill-top town.
Now a wasteland of.
Flattened buildings and rubble.
Long bursts of automatic gunfire.
Rattled across.
The grey, stubbled fields.
On the front line.
Between Soledar and.
The neighbouring town of Bakhmut.
During an intense gun and.
Artillery battle.
Closer to Bakhmut.
Two ‘elves’ jets roared overhead.
As artillery and tanks, hidden in the fields.
Continued to pound ‘orcs’ positions.
Privately, some ‘elves’ soldiers.
Have blamed poor co-ordination.
Between different units.
For the loss of Soledar.
And have acknowledged that.
‘Mordor’ may now be better placed to encircle.
The far bigger and strategically more important.
Neighbouring town of Bakhmut, to the south.
But the mood among front line units.
In villages like Paraskoviivka.
Now just a few hundred metres from ‘orcs’ positions.
Appears to be quietly confident.
Furious ‘elves’ air and artillery bombardments.
Appear to be blocking ‘orcs’ attempts.
To move forward both from the north and.
From the south-western outskirts of Bakhmut.
“It’s a controlled situation.
I believe in my commander.
Sometimes it’s really better.
To take a step back…”
“Then after that to make a counter attack.
And crush the enemy.
Each day we’re destroying.
Enemy positions.”
Long bursts of automatic gunfire.
Rattled across.
The grey, stubbled fields.
On the front line.
Between Soledar and.
The neighbouring town of Bakhmut.
During an intense gun and.
Artillery battle.
Closer to Bakhmut.
Two ‘elves’ jets roared overhead.
As artillery and tanks, hidden in the fields.
Continued to pound ‘orcs’ positions.
On a grey morning this week.
A light thaw turned the snowbound.
Country lanes on the northern edge of Bakhmut.
Into muddy tracks.
During winter there is precious little cover.
From trees and bushes.
Leaving many roads visible and.
Vehicles exposed to ‘orcs’ artillery fire.
The fighting had reached.
A new pitch of intensity.
With the boom of rockets and artillery fire.
Coming every few seconds.
Amid the wail of sirens.
From ‘elves’ ambulances.
Whisking the wounded back to.
A field hospital.
“We have gunshot wounds.
We have shrapnel wounds.
The fighting here seems to be.
Particularly intense.”
“We also have cases of frostbite and flu.
And people are tired.”
Said the commander of.
The 46th Brigade’s medical unit.
But he insisted morale.
Among the soldiers remained high.
“They’re tired, they’re cold.
They’re wounded.”
“But they ask me.
‘Doc, when can I return?’
They don’t want to say.
‘I’m wounded, now I can relax.’”
“Their hearts are burning still.
We have work to do.”
Doc said, scrolling through a video showing him.
Removing mortar shrapnel from a soldier’s shoulder.
Long bursts of automatic gunfire.
Rattled across.
The grey, stubbled fields.
On the front line.
Between Soledar and.
The neighbouring town of Bakhmut.
During an intense gun and.
Artillery battle.
Closer to Bakhmut.
Two ‘elves’ jets roared overhead.
As artillery and tanks, hidden in the fields.
Continued to pound ‘orcs’ positions.
*Because I read “Ukraine war: Ukraine admits pulling out of front line town of Soledar” by Andrew Harding on 19 Jan 2023, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Andriy and a story of Dr Zholob.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: Ukraine admits pulling out of front line town of Soledar – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem with another my poem together also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
