Ukraine’s River of Anguish

Late at night, half a dozen Ukrainian infantrymen leaned over a map spread on wooden pallets inside a building. Within an hour they would embark on one of the most dangerous deployments of the war, a nighttime operation across the Dnipro River.

Vyshyty, a company commander, was issuing orders for an operation last May. The unit would be providing support for assault troops, he told them. “If they retreat, you hold positions, give them covering fire, and evacuate the heavily wounded,” he said.

The men of 126th Territorial Defense Brigade are among elite forces of the Ukrainian army. Trained by British special operations forces, among others, they have been conducting cross-river operations, alongside marine infantry brigades and special intelligence units, against Russian forces in the southern Kherson region for the best part of two years.

Over several weeks this spring, commanders and soldiers of the brigade allowed a team of reporters to accompany them on operations. They also described some of their earlier operations that had not been previously reported. Because of security restrictions, some details and locations have been withheld and soldiers are identified only by first names or call signs.