Ukrainian brigade shares video of devastated by Russian attacks Toretsk
Soldiers from Ukraine’s 42nd Independent Mechanized Brigade shared video footage on Dec. 10 from Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, where intense fighting continues.
Despite the devastation, some residents remain in the ruined city, refusing evacuation. The brigade reported that Russian aerial bombs and artillery have nearly wiped Toretsk off the map.
"From its streets to its buildings, there’s almost nothing left of this once-proud city after the arrival of the so-called 'liberators,’” the soldiers said in their comments on the footage.
The Battle for Toretsk
A defeat of Ukrainian forces in Toretsk could lead to strategic losses, enabling Russian forces to block supply lines connecting Ukrainian troops across much of the eastern front, The New York Times journalist Tyler Hicks reported earlier.
On Dec. 2, Anastasia Bobovnikova, spokesperson for the Luhansk Operational Tactical Group, stated that Russian forces lose approximately one mechanized battalion per week in the battle for Toretsk.
As of Dec. 10, about 400 residents, mostly elderly, remain in the city, according to Vasyl Chynchyk, head of the Toretsk Military Administration. The city has been reduced to rubble, with no intact buildings left. Residents shelter in basements and makeshift bunkers to escape daily Russian bombardments.
Street fighting continues, and there is no clear front line in the city. Russian troops regularly assault Ukrainian positions, attempting to make incremental advances.
"Russian forces are advancing in relatively small groups, but they’re relentless," said Mykhailo Stoikevych, deputy chief of staff of the 49th Assault Battalion of the Carpathian Sich. "They’re trying to concentrate in specific buildings."
Russian forces are also attempting to encircle Toretsk from the south. However, Stoikevych assured that their maneuvers have been unsuccessful, and there is currently no immediate threat of the city being surrounded.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
