Cut Off In The Woods, A Dozen Ukrainian Troops Fought Off The Russian Army For M…

In early May, a small team from the Ukrainian army’s 225th Assault Battalion and Ukrainian marine corps’ 223rd Marine Battalion were holding a defensive position in the forest northwest of Chasiv Yar, in eastern Ukraine just west of Bakhmut, when Russian forces advanced.

The Ukrainian team, seemingly numbering fewer than a dozen troops, suddenly found itself all alone in the woods, Russians all around, friendly forces hundreds of yards away. “The fighters kept a circular defense, repelling the invaders’ attacks around the clock,” the 225th Assault Battalion explained on social media.

For 70 days, the Ukrainians held out, waiting for the Ukrainian army’s 24th Mechanized Brigade—the nearest big unit—to fight its way to the forest strongpoint and escort the soldiers and marines to the relative safety of the main Ukrainian line.

Cargo-carrying drones kept the men alive. “While we tried to clear the way, the only way of supply was drones we used to deliver ammunition, food and water,” the 225th Assault Battalion recalled. It wasn’t the first time Ukrainian drone operators had come to the aid of stranded Ukrainian troops.

Seventy days is a long time to survive on thin rations delivered from the air by tiny drones. It’s even longer when you’re under enemy fire. The photo of the survivors from the 225th Assault Battalion posted on Tuesday depicts hungry-looking soldiers and marines with long beards and tattered uniforms.

The 24th Mechanized Brigade ultimately found a way through the woods and past the Russians and fetched the cut-off troops, some of whom were wounded. “The position is ours, the path is unlocked,” the 225th Assault Battalion reported.

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