- Title: Drone footage shows Russian positions in the east hit by Ukrainian artillery
- Date: 24th March 2023
- Summary: NEAR KREMINNA, LUHANSK REGION, UKRAINE (MARCH 24, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (UKRAINIAN) VADYM, 30, SERVICEMAN AT ARTILLERY BRIGADE, SAYING: "Not much has changed during the last week or month. The situation is more or less the same, sometimes we work more, sometimes less but there is always enough work." HOWITZER BEING FIRED SOLDIER HOLDING AMMUNITION CASING SOLDIER LOADING AMMUNITION HOWITZER BEING FIRED (SOUNDBITE) (UKRAINIAN) VADYM, 30, SERVICEMAN AT ARTILLERY BRIGADE, SAYING: "It is a relatively precise howitzer but it needs a lot of maintenance. It needs to be constantly checked, let's say it is not a new system and it is very complicated. There is a lot of electronics, lots of components that need to be monitored closely. Quite a few parts break down and need to be replaced or repaired." SOLDIER STANDING NEXT TO HOWITZER HELMET ON FENCE SHELL CASING (SOUNDBITE) (UKRAINIAN) ARTYOM, 33, SERVICEMAN AT ARTILLERY BRIGADE SAYING: "There is never enough ammunition. We all want to work as much as we can, to shoot as much as we can. We fire 50-60, sometimes up to 100 rockets per day." AMMUNITION SOLDIER SHOWING UKRAINIAN AND FRENCH CASING FRAGMENT OF A RUSSIAN ROCKET THAT EXPLODED NEARLY 150 METRES FROM THE POSITION OF THE UKRAINIAN ARTILLERY BRIGADE SOLDIERS COVERING HOWITZER WITH CAMOUFLAGE NET
- Embargoed: 7th April 2023 16:56
- Keywords: French TRF1 artillery Kreminna Russian positions Ukraine artillery brigade frontline
- Location: NEAR KREMINNA, LUHANSK REGION, UKRAINE
- City: NEAR KREMINNA, LUHANSK REGION, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA005002624032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ukrainian troops at an artillery position in a lush pine forest near the city of Kreminna in the eastern Luhansk region fired 155 mm rounds from a French TRF-1 howitzer towards a highway used as a supply road for the Russian-held stronghold of Kreminna.
As orders came in with coordinates, the crew rushed to their positions around the gun, removed camouflage, aimed, loaded, and fired. After three rounds, they lowered the barrel, covered it back up, and went back to bunkers in the forest to await further orders. Artillery and small arms fire could be heard in the distance.
Russian forces attacked northern and southern stretches of the front in Ukraine's east on Friday (March 24), pressing on with their offensive despite assertions from Kyiv that Moscow's assault was flagging near the city of Bakhmut.
Front lines in Ukraine have barely budged since November, despite intense fighting. Ukraine recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022 but has since kept mostly to the defensive, while Russia has assaulted hundreds of thousands of freshly called-up reservists and convicts recruited from prison as mercenaries.
As the winter turns to spring, the main question in Ukraine is how much longer Russia can sustain its major offensive, and when or if Ukraine can reverse the momentum with a counterassault now in the planning.
(Production: Vlad Smilianets, Anna Dabrowska) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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