Foreign Media: Troop Shortages Leave Ukrainian Frontline Infantry on the Brink of Despair

According to a report by Reference News on May 4, the Spanish newspaper El País reported on April 30 that photos of four Ukrainian soldiers, emaciated due to severe malnutrition, have recently caused a stir in Ukraine. The four soldiers in the photos were not victims of enemy abuse, but were abandoned by their own commander at the front lines of the war, with no one providing even the most basic survival supplies.

These four soldiers have been stationed in the trenches at the front line in Kupiansk, eastern Ukraine, for nine months. Since July 2025, they have been struggling to survive in an underground shelter across the Oskil River. On April 22, their families publicly revealed this situation on social media, at which point the soldiers had gone a full 17 days without food supplies. The exposure of this incident sparked a public outcry, ultimately leading to the dismissal of both the commander of the 14th Mechanized Brigade to which the soldiers belonged and the commander of the 10th Army.

On April 24, Colonel Taras Maksymkov, the newly appointed commander of the 14th Mechanized Brigade, released a video call with the four soldiers. In the video, the soldiers showed food supplies that had been air-dropped to their position by a drone a few days earlier. The good news is that they finally have food; the bad news is that after nine months at the front, they are still stationed on the combat contact line.

Reports indicate that in this war, where drones monitor every inch of the front line, rotating soldiers who are holding the front line has become an almost impossible task.

Due to the threat posed by drones, both Russian and Ukrainian sides are trying to minimize the frequency of rotations for front-line soldiers. For Ukraine, the situation is even more severe due to insufficient reinforcements. The area where the four soldiers of the 14th Mechanized Brigade are stationed has extremely unfavorable terrain conditions, as they are located at the very forefront of the Ukrainian defense line on the left bank of the Oskil River. The Russian military continues to attack the floating bridges used for crossing the river, limiting personnel movement.

In January of this year, a battalion commander stationed on the left bank of the Oskil River admitted in an anonymous interview that it has become common for his soldiers to be stationed at the front line for six months, with one soldier even having been stationed there for a full year.

The current known record for continuous front-line deployment is held by military doctor Sergey Tsianko, who lived in an underground shelter at the combat contact line for 471 days.

“An infantryman heading to the front line often feels like he has bought a one-way ticket, with no return,” said a soldier codenamed “Historian.” “The most tormenting feeling is that of being completely forgotten, especially when your food, water, and ammunition are running out little by little.”

In November 2024, during the Russian siege of Pokrovsk, “Historian” lost a leg. His position was bombarded and charged multiple times for three weeks, ultimately resulting in severe injuries that necessitated amputation.

“Historian” added: “You stay in an extremely small space for weeks or even months, almost unable to go outside, having to bend over or lie down all the time, with physiological needs being resolved right there. You have a life-and-death bond with your comrades, yet you can be utterly annoyed with each other, to the point where even their breathing can make you furious.” (Translated by Zhang Weiyu)