How One Crack in the Line Opened a Path for the Russians

Thunderous explosions shook the ground as the Ukrainian crew prepared to maneuver its American-made Bradley fighting vehicle out of camouflage and, once again, into the fire.

The commander of the team, a sergeant with the call sign Lawyer, nervously scanned the sky. “If we are seen, the KABs will come,” he said, referring to the one-ton bombs Russia has been using to target Ukraine’s most valuable armor and defenses.

What had started as a small Russian thrust into the tiny town of Ocheretyne was growing into a substantial breakthrough, threatening to unhinge the Ukrainian lines across a broad stretch of the eastern front. The crew’s mission was to help contain the breach: protect outmanned and outgunned infantry soldiers, evacuate the wounded and use the Bradley’s powerful 25-millimeter cannon against as many Russians as possible.

But the 28-ton vehicle was soon spotted. Mortars and rockets exploded all around, and the gunner was badly injured, said the commander, identified only by his call sign according to military protocol.

A combat assignment had turned into a mission to rescue his comrade. The gunner survived and is now recovering, Lawyer said a few days later. But the Russians gained territory and are continuing to try to press forward.

Father Ivan, with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, blessed the soldiers of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, near Vuhledar.