Vladimir Putin‘s troops have resorted to a chilling tactic in a desperate attempt to advance past Ukraine‘s defence forces.
Kyiv’s troops have been referring to the relentless attacks as “meat assaults” as wave after wave of soldiers crash into their defence lines.
The Ukrainian military said the strikes can come throughout the day, sometimes nearly a dozen times in 24 hours, in the hope of tiring them out.
Lt Col Anton Bayev of the Khartia Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard admitted responding to repeated assaults can be very difficult for his men to handle, even psychologically.
Speaking to the BBC, Lt Col Bayev said: “The Russians use these units in most cases purely to see where our firing equipment is located, and to constantly exhaust our units.
“Our guys stand in positions and fight, and when four or five waves of the enemy come at you in a day, which you have to destroy without end, it is very difficult – not only physically, but also psychologically.”
He noted the tactic, however, is plagued with glaring issues that have left Russia grappling with a growing casualty rate.
Since Moscow launched its latest offensive across the Kharkiv region in May, 1,200 Russian soldiers have been either killed or wounded daily, according to Western intelligence.
Lt Col Bayev said the problem is that the extensive drone network Ukraine has been using helps his men spot enemies approaching quickly.
He noted Russia appears to be using the strategy to tire them out and doesn’t seem particularly concerned with recovering the dead or wounded from the battlefield.
He said: “Their main task is simply meat assaults and our total exhaustion.”
Putin has been repeatedly accused of exploiting Russia‘s considerably larger population to put pressure on Ukraine, turning to prisoners and conscription to bring in more soldiers to sustain his efforts to defeat Kyiv.
The Russian Army is believed to have added to its numbers with one-off payments to convince more men to join the war effort.
Most of the new recruits are poorly trained, and reports have emerged in recent months suggesting wounded men have been forced to head back to the front after receiving little to no treatment.
Former Ukrainian Security Service officer Ivan Stupak conceded Ukraine is “limited with manpower” and is not always able to prevent Russia‘s forces from advancing.
He said: “Unfortunately there are a lot of Russians. And they are trying to conduct this rolling operation centimetre by centimetre, inch by inch, 100m per day, 200m per day. And unfortunately, it’s successful for them.”