It is 10 minutes’ walk from the nearest Ukrainian village in the country’s eastern Donbas region, and the only clue to what lies around the corner are the deep track marks through the grass. A minute further, in the wooded valley beyond, is a cluster of tanks, nestling, concealed among the trees. Alongside are their crews, waiting and preparing, amid talk that a Ukrainian counteroffensive is on its way.
The youngest is Danill, who is particularly eager to talk. He is 21, already a lieutenant. A recent graduate of Lviv’s army academy, he helped in the defence of Kyiv, guarding an approach road with a rocket-propelled grenade before finishing his course. Then, a month ago, he joined the elite 214th Opfor battalion. The armoured unit has been operating for months in defence of Bakhmut city, but incomer Danill, a junior tank commander, has yet to see the fierce combat there.
