Against all odds.
‘Elves’ forces went on.
The attack.
On Sunday.
Assault groups.
Anchored by ‘elves’.
Independent air assault forces.
Rolled out.
From their trenches.
And basement bunkers.
On the northern edge of.
The 250-square-mile salient.
‘Elves’ troops hold in western.
‘Mordor’’s Kursk Oblast.
And despite.
Being outnumbered.
Three-to-one.
All along the salient.
Advanced as far as.
Two miles.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
‘Elves’ and ‘orcs’ infantry were.
Close enough to each other.
To fire short-range.
Grenade launchers.
And one ‘elves’ crew turned.
Their eight-wheeled Stryker.
Infantry fighting vehicle.
Into a weapon.
—and ran down.
And over at least.
One hapless ‘orc’ soldier.
Trying to dodge on foot.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
The brutal daytime incident.
On a snow-blanketed field.
Somewhere in Kursk.
Was dispassionately observed.
By at least two ‘elves’.
Surveillance drones.
As the drones.
Streamed video.
The 19-ton Stryker.
Accelerated across the field.
Turning sharply.
To line up.
On ‘orcs’ soldiers.
On ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Caught unprotected.
In the snow.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
It’s apparent from the footage.
That the speedy Stryker.
Normally crewed by.
Two soldiers, struck someone.
Whether that someone.
Lived or died is unclear.
Injured or dead.
They’re just.
Another broken body.
In a war that has.
Killed and maimed.
More than a million people.
On both sides.
In 35 bloody months.
Only the circumstances.
Are unique.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
Why were the ‘orcs’?
All alone and unsupported?
Why didn’t the Stryker crew?
Open fire with the vehicle’s?
Top-mounted machine gun?
Instead of running down?
With great effort?
And at great risk?
Its victim?
Or victims?
It’s possible to answer.
Both questions.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
If the ‘elves’ advanced quickly enough.
Taking the defending ‘orcs’.
By surprise.
They may have succeeded.
In cutting off a few.
Outlying ‘orcs’ positions.
And the unfortunate troops.
Occupying them.
That kind of confused fighting.
Has characterized.
The battle for Kursk.
Ever since a strong ‘elves’ forces.
The battle for Kursk.
Ever since a strong ‘elves’ forces.
Invaded the oblast.
Back in August.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
As for the Stryker crew’s.
Motives—it’s possible.
The vehicle’s gun jammed.
Or ran out of ammunition.
Equally possible:
The automotive slaughter.
Was nothing.
More than bloodlust.
If the latter.
It’s an important indicator.
Of the morale and.
Will to fight of.
At least one vehicle crew.
In a military.
That admittedly has.
Thousands of them.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
Hatred of the enemy.
And an eagerness to kill them.
Is a prerequisite.
For victory.
In a young army facing.
A more established foe.
Cultivating this hatred.
Is difficult.
It comes with time.
And painful experience.
It comes with time.
And painful experience.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
The’elves’, many of whom.
Were civilians.
As recently as three years ago.
And joined the military.
Only after ‘Mordor’ widened.
Its invasion of Ukraine.
In February.
2022.
May have been quicker.
To internalize that.
Vital hatred of.
A foreign attacker.
The fighting in and around.
The village of Berdin was fierce.
Drones pummeled attackers.
And defenders alike.
If one bloodthirsty.
Vehicle crew.
Going out of its way.
To run over.
A defenseless ‘orcs’.
Is any indication.
The hatred now.
Runs deep.
Against all odds.
‘Elves’ forces went on.
The attack.
On Sunday.
Assault groups.
Anchored by ‘elves’.
Independent air assault forces.
Rolled out.
From their trenches.
And basement bunkers.
On the northern edge of.
The 250-square-mile salient.
*Because I read “The Crew Of A Ukrainian Stryker Turned The Vehicle Into A Weapon—And Ran Over At Least One Hapless Russian” by David Axe on 6 Jan 2025 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
The Crew Of A Ukrainian Stryker Ran Over At Least One Hapless Russian
