“Chaotic” Ukraine withdrawal from Russia, its soldiers “

A little more than a week ago Artem Kariakin and his unit regularly traveled on the border of Ukraine to the Russian city of Suduja.

It shows me a video made with the phone of the latest trip when the Ukrainian troops retreated from the Russian region Kursk. This shows that they make their way into the run dozens of burned military and civilian vehicles.

A soldier armed with a gun, their last defense line scans the horizon for Russian drones. From nowhere one flies to the back of the truck. The sparks fly, but they continue to go.

Artem says they were lucky – the explosive charge was not large enough to stop them.

Another truck is near luck. It was already in the flame.

Artem admits that Ukraine’s retreat from the court, the largest urban Ukraine, which took place in Kursk, was “insufficiently organized”.

“It was quite chaotic,” he tells me. “There are many units that remained in disorder.

He did not help, he says because the units worked without proper connection. Starlink satellite systems, which they usually expect, did not work in Russia.

The 27-year-old soldier is still considering Kursk’s offensive as widely successful. Artem says it made Russia divert its forces from the east. Most of the Ukrainian troops still managed to escape on time – even if for many it was on foot.

But he believes that the unexpected inclusion of Ukraine into the Russian territory, launched in August last year, was too deep and too narrow – relying on only one main road on supplies and reinforcements.

While Artem and his people escaped for their lives, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked over the phone to bring the war to the end. Artyom says he believes that “ridiculous”.

“For me, these calls between Trump and Putin are just surreal,” he says. “Trump wants to end the war because he promised to do it – and Putin wants to cheat Trump to continue his war. I can’t take their conversations seriously.”

Artem, whose house is located in the Lugansk region now, tells me that he feels disappointing in the US and Trump. “What can I feel if they just want to give away my house?”

Artyom says he never believed that Putin would be ready to trade any part of Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine. But he still believes that Kursk’s offensive was important for protecting his own border. Ukrainian troops may have been forced to retreat, but they still occupy the high land a little over the border with Sami.

Ukraine continues cross-border raids not only in Kursk, but also Belgod.

The Serchi Battalion helps to plan these attacks-searches through Russian minefields and anti-tank obstacles known as the Dragon’s “teeth”.

We joined it at night to find and restore armored vehicles that need repair. This is the safest time to move close to the Russian border.

Serchi himself is not alien to Russia: he was born there. He now has a Belarusian citizenship, but he decided to fight for Ukraine. It justifies Ukraine’s invasion into its former home. According to him, Russia is also trying to create a buffer zone on the territory of Ukraine.

Traveling in his Ukrainian armored vehicles, Sergius still lists the probable threats, now we are less than 10 km from the Russian border: Glide Bombs, Rockets and Artillery, as well as drones equipped with heat cameras.

Its own vehicle is equipped with electronic counter-MI for brewing drones, but even they will not work against drones operating through fiber optic wires. They cannot be stopped, although Ukraine has erected a network on some routes to try to catch drones before they can hit the goal.

Our original search next to the Russian border for the armored vehicle damaged in the United States is abandoned when Sergius receives a reconnaissance that Russian drones act nearby. Instead, he tries to find another broken Bradley, where the risks will be smaller.

He and his driver still have to overcome obstacles along the way. Trees and branches lie scattered along their path – remnants of a recent Russian air strike. We see a few more explosions away, turning the orange night sky for a short time.

In the end, Sergius finds his broken Bradley. It has already been obtained from the battlefield across the border and was loaded to a truck to return to repair.

Bradley commander confirms me that they are fighting in Russia. He describes situations across the border as “difficult, but we hold on.”

Bradley is another reminder of Ukraine’s dependence on US military support. Now it seems less confident in Trump’s focus on peace talks. Sergius says he already realized that he was “rushing” behind Ukraine’s back.

I ask Serchi whether he thinks European countries can fill any void left by the US. Is there enough European “coalition” willingly to guarantee Ukraine’s safety?

“I think that if America does not help Ukraine, then the ceasefire will soon be agreed – but on extremely unfavorable conditions for Ukraine,” Serchi replies.

“Europe is clearly unable to resolve this conflict.

Serchi says he wants the war to end. Like many Ukrainians, he would like to see peace – but in no price.

Additional VolodyMyr Lozkho and Anastasiia Levchenko report