The US Marine Corps claims that the life expectancy of Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines is only “four hours”.

News

by Isabelle Kane

February 23, 2023 | 1:18 p.m

The life expectancy of a soldier fighting on the front lines in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is only four hours, according to an American fighting Russian forces in the Donbass.

Former US Marine Troy Offenbaker detailed the intense fighting, which was some of the bloodiest since Russia launched its invasion a year ago, in an interview with hv news.

Offenbaker told the outlet that the fighting in the war-torn city of Bakhmut got so bloody that it was dubbed a “meat grinder.”

“It was very bad on the ground,” he said.

“A lot of victims. Life expectancy is about four hours on the front line.”

The struggle for control of the eastern city, which had a pre-war population of about 73,000, was the most sustained fighting of the war. In recent weeks, Russian forces have stepped up their offensives in eastern and southern Ukraine ahead of an expected large-scale offensive for a Russian victory.

Russian forces surrounded Fort Bakhmut for months, as the city is important to Kiev because it is located next to a supply route, but it was met with fierce opposition from Ukrainian forces.

The artillery “doesn’t stop,” said Offenbaker, who fights with the International Legion, a military unit of foreign fighters.

“[Russia] You may have had a shell shortage lately, but the past two weeks haven’t stopped. “All day and night,” he said.

“With the amount of bombing and the amount of armor they brought in, I think it started,” he said. “It’s only difficult because the winter wasn’t as cold as it used to be. They can’t move as much shields as I’m sure they would like to on Earth.”

Although some of the bloodiest battles took place around Bakhmut, there were still some civilian families in the city, according to Offenbaker.

“A lot of these families are poor,” he said. “They don’t have anywhere to go… even if they wanted to. So the reality is that there are still a lot of civilians stuck in the middle of this.”