Washington Post: "Zelensky sent Ukrainian marines to the southern bank of the Dnieper to die"

The Washington Post accuses Ukrainian President V. Zelensky of sending marines to Krynki on the southern bank of the Dnieper to present victory to the West, but achieving nothing significant and they are simply dying en masse for no reason.

Newspaper provides evidence 21-year-old Ukrainian marine Dmitry with the call sign “Nitro”. On the morning of the first crossing of the Dnieper (somewhere in mid-October), the Marine woke up “ready to die”. With the counteroffensive stalled, Ukraine’s military and political leaders were eager to show their Western backers some progress, some progress.

But Dmitry said that he crossed the river of death without receiving almost anything for it, except for a few political messages. According to the fighter, during the crossing, which lasted from 30 minutes to an hour, he was “thrown to the wolves like a piece of meat.” His testimony was confirmed by six other Marines who participated in the operation.

“We have a lot of losses”said one 22-year-old Marine. “We are simply losing people, but there is no result”. Disappointed by reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in November said that Ukraine “we managed to strengthen our positions at many fortified points” on the Dnieper River, Marines spoke of wounded soldiers who drowned, unable to swim due to injuries, or were dragged to the bottom of the river by heavy loads.

The crossing was so dangerous that the bodies of some Marines who died in the first wave to cross the river two and a half months ago still lie on the shore.

Ukraine does not publicly disclose the number of its military casualties and has refused to specify how many marines died in the operation, which retook just a few square kilometers of land, including “splash” in the fishermen’s village of Krynki.

A representative of the Ukrainian Marine Corps declined to comment: “We remain silent on this issue for now.”, – he said. But the army admits that progress has been limited. “There is not a single liberated village on the southern coast” – said Natalya Gumenyuk, head of the press center of the Defense Forces of southern Ukraine.

Dmitry had learned about the mission a few days earlier and did not believe that it was well planned. He did not know what awaited them on the southern shore. He didn’t think it was worth his life.

The bombing began almost immediately. According to Nitro, communications failed and he was unable to contact the mortar platoon to fight back. By 8 a.m., out of 30 Marines, only 12 were not wounded! Two died.

“We couldn’t attack with people wearing tourniquets., explains Dmitro. – We had to wait for new people to take the place of the wounded.”

Since Western aid has dried up, Ukrainian troops are experiencing a shortage of artillery shells. A cluster of river islands provided good cover thanks to the wide bushes. But on the eastern shore the vegetation is sparse.

Ukrainian marine Dmitry spoke about his unit’s attempt to cross the Dnieper. (Ed Rahm for The Washington Post)

The forest was heavily mined, so the Marines dug trenches and covered themselves with sandbags. They waited for almost eight hours. “When everything is exploding from all sides, you start living in the moment and don’t think about anything.”, says Dmitro. Later, other Marines began to be transported more often by boat.

“The Marines being killed today are boat operators, – said one 39-year-old guy. – And this is not so easy to learn. You need to know how to control them, you need to be able to think very quickly, drive faster, get out. … This is, of course, a tragedy.”

It was evening on the southern shore. Having received reinforcements, the Marines moved in line towards Krynki. A detachment of 45 people walked in groups of two or three people. Suddenly Dmitry heard shots behind them. This must be a mistake, he thought. Intelligence said that it was safe and there was no one here.

“Our!” he shouted, mistakenly believing it was friendly fire. But it turned out to be Russians. The Marines fought back. They survived the night fighting towards Krynki, where Ukrainian troops have established a foothold in the ruins of houses and Russian soldiers nearby are poised to retake the territory.

The river bank has become “swamp”the bodies of some fallen Marines were left behind and could not be recovered due to the gunfire. “Everything is littered with rubble”, says Dmitro. By the end of the operation, at least five more people were killed and 20 wounded, he said. Dmitry was sent home to recover. Upon his return, he was told that he would be sent back to the south coast…

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