SEVERODONETSK (AFP) - The dozen jumpy and exhausted soldiers cowering under a bridge from incoming shellfire formed Ukraine’s last line of defence against Russia’s assault on this easternmost city still held by Kyiv.
Behind them lay the smouldering remains of what was once a 100,000-strong industrial hub filled with Soviet-era apartment towers and a major chemicals plant.
But their eyes were trained on a field on the opposite side of the bridge from which the Russians had spent the night firing missiles at the last defenders of Severodonetsk.
If the city falls on Sunday, it would mean the Kremlin has gained de facto control of Lugansk -- the smaller of the two republics comprising the Donbas war zone -- in time for Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations on Monday.
The heavily-armed combat soldiers manning the underpass on the northern edge of the city were anxiously shouting commands into their walkie-talkies next to a burnt-out van.
A few anti-tank missiles lay next to a kettle they kept over an open fire to fill their thermoses with tea.
The eerily empty road leading toward the Russians was strewn with the twisted remains of munitions and power lines ripped off their posts by incessant blasts.
The soldiers looked too tired to put on a brave face.
"I would rather not guess how long we can hold on. All I can say is that we are here now," said their unit commander under condition that his name not be used on security grounds.
"The best way to describe the situation? Critically stable," he said with a sardonic laugh.
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