He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
For months.
He has been fighting.
To hold a thin strip of land.
Surrounded by ‘orcs’ forces.
Now he’s been rushed.
To defend ‘orcs’ onslaught.
In the Kharkiv region.
Like many other soldiers.
Scrambled from other parts.
Of ‘elves’ front line.
It’s a redeployment symptomatic.
Of this war’s new focus.
Now from north-eastern Ukraine.
He’s described.
The difference in fighting.
As “huge”.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Despite limited supplies.
Minimal gains and.
Mounting losses.
Kyiv insists.
Its southern foothold.
On the occupied eastern bank.
Of Dnipro River.
Is still significant.
It’s where he.
Had been fighting.
For the past.
Eight months.
Six months ago.
He described the conditions.
On the swampy riverside as “hell”.
Things haven’t improved.
“We’d managed to.
Maintain the bridgehead.
But no equipment.
Has crossed it.”
“And we haven’t once.
Broken through ‘orcs’ defences.”
The marine says the area.
Had been reduced to.
A “moonscape”.
With entire villages.
Being razed.
To their foundations.
“We destroyed a lot of.
‘orcs’ equipment.
And they destroyed a lot of.
Our personnel.”
“We’ve left our best guys.
On the riverside.”
The ‘elves’ have also suffered.
Heavy losses there too.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Despite minimal progress.
And mounting losses.
‘Elves’ military says.
It’s pursuing.
Three aims.
With this bridgehead:
To draw invading troops.
From elsewhere.
To limit ‘orcs’ artillery strikes.
On Kherson city across the river.
To eventually cross it in large enough.
Numbers to liberate territory
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
He says promised US military aid.
Was gradually starting to arrive.
But not all of it was making it.
To the front line where he was based.
Despite partially forcing.
The ‘orcs’ back.
‘Elves’ troops still endure.
Constant ‘orcs’ fire.
“Any movement was immediately.
Covered by artillery or drones.
The ‘orcs’ didn’t seem concerned.
By our presence there either;”
“We had become a suitcase.
Without a handle.
The troops there can’t leave.
And everyone understands that’s useless.”
The area near.
‘Elves’ east bank foothold.
Has been turned into.
A “moonscape”.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
It’s hoped.
A new mobilisation law.
Which came into.
Force last month.
Will help give troops.
Like those fighting.
On the eastern bank.
A rest.
“It won’t change anything!”
Says a flamethrower unit commander.
Who is still fighting.
On the eastern bank.
He sends you.
Videos of him.
On patrol in Krynky.
By the riverside.
At one point.
He shoots.
An ‘orcs’ anti-personnel mine.
Hidden beneath the sand.
“People should join.
The army from 20.
But there is a problem.
A lot of men went abroad.”
“No-one wants to come back.
No-one wants to fight.
And no-one wants to die.”
“It won’t change anything!”
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Ahead of the arrival.
Of more Western military aid.
‘Elves’ generals believe.
‘Mordor’ is trying.
To expand.
The battlefield and.
Further stretch.
Their defending units.
Invading troops.
Are more than a month.
Into a north-eastern.
Ground offensive.
And while Ukraine.
Has slowed their advances.
There’s been.
No letting up.
It’s why he.
Now finds himself.
Hundreds of kilometres away.
From the Kherson region.
“Everything happened.
In a hurry and.
There was no preparation.
Everyone is here:”
“Marines, air assault forces.
The State Border Guard Service.
Regular infantry, territorial defence.
And national police.”
“There are also more drones.
In the sky.
Compared to the east bank.
Of the Dnipro.”
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
‘Gandalf the Green’ concedes.
Time is running out.
For a diplomatic solution.
Which favours Ukraine.
Which is why.
He recently held.
A peace summit.
In Switzerland.
‘Gandalf the Green’ admits.
His priority is.
To simply hold.
The front line.
Also, he claims.
There are still plans.
For a counter offensive.
In the future.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
*Because I read “’There was no preparation’: One marine’s story of defending Kharkiv” by James Waterhouse on 28 Jun 2024, 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 Oleksiy and a story of Boston.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: Marine reveals struggle of defending Kharkiv (bbc.com)
**My friend kindly shows you this poem in one page of the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them! You can read my 100 poems here at once.
