War in Ukraine: Russia’s ‘meat attacks’ crush Ukrainian defenses

On the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers use a graphic term to describe the Russian tactics they face daily.

They are called “meat assaults”: waves of Russian soldiers descending on their defensive positions, sometimes up to a dozen times a day.

Lieutenant Colonel Anton Bayev of the Khartia Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard says that wave after wave of troops can arrive in just a few hours at the frontline positions north of Kharkiv.

“The Russians use these units in most cases only to see where our firing equipment is and to constantly wear down our units,” he said.

“Our guys stand in position and fight, and when four or five waves of enemies attack you in one day, which you have to destroy endlessly, it’s very difficult – not only physically, but also psychologically.”

The tactic has led to heavy losses on the Russian side since it launched its latest offensive two months ago. About 1,200 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded every day in May and June, the highest rate since the war began, according to Western officials.

Drones usually spot the attackers quickly, and the Russians leave their dead and wounded on the battlefield, Lt. Col. Bayev said. “Their main task is simply to attack us and exhaust us completely.”

This tactic is a sign that Russia is seeking to make the most of its main advantage: numbers.

In Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Captain Ivan Sekach of the 110th Ukrainian Brigade compares what he sees to a conveyor belt that carries Russians to their deaths, while allowing them to advance slowly.

Russia has a much larger population than Ukraine. Some of the participants in the attacks are former prisoners, but Russia is also able to recruit fighters by making one-off payments, sometimes of several thousand dollars.

The Russian side has complained of “crippled regiments,” where wounded soldiers are forced to return to combat. One video shows dozens of men, some on crutches, calling their commanders because they say they are wounded and need hospital treatment, but instead are being sent back to combat.

All this, Western officials say, means that Moscow can continue to send soldiers, even poorly trained ones, directly to the front lines at the same rate as they are killed or wounded.

Ukraine could not match Russian tactics even if it had the manpower, partly because of a different attitude toward casualties. A senior general was dismissed in recent weeks after being accused of using what is often called Soviet tactics, sending men to the front lines.

“We are very criticized because we have lost many of our men because of the Soviet-type mentality and strategy,” says Ivan Stupak, a former security service officer. “We are limited in numbers. We have no choice but to think about our people.”

In the Kharkiv region, Russian advances have been halted. But in the east, Russia is advancing slowly but surely.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of Russians. They are trying to advance this operation centimeter by centimeter, inch by inch, 100 meters per day, 200 meters per day. And unfortunately, it is not working out for them,” Stupak says.

In kyiv, frustration is palpable over the pace of Western aid. One senior official complains that he is receiving enough aid to stave off defeat, but not enough to guarantee victory.

Western officials acknowledge that 2024 has been a difficult year for Ukraine, with delays in the arrival of U.S. military aid putting a major strain on defenses that has cost territory and lives.

“It looks like a so-called gradual approach,” Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told the BBC.

“We are receiving little by little, and I have the impression that our Western allies are giving a little bit of weaponry, and they are seeing what happens next, as if they were afraid of what they call an escalation.”

The lifting of restrictions on the use of American weapons on the border with Russia made a difference and helped delay Moscow’s assault on Kharkiv.

“If we have to fight with our hands tied behind our backs, we will only bleed white,” Merezhko says. “That is why it is crucial to be allowed to use long-range missiles on Russian territory, and we have already achieved results.”

But a Ukrainian official said the use of longer-range strikes against Russia was only a stopgap measure and did not fundamentally change the dynamics of the war.

“We are heading towards a dead end,” says Ivan Stupak, a former security service officer, while acknowledging that this could eventually lead to the “bitter pill” of some form of negotiation.

During a visit to kyiv this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban suggested a ceasefire as a first step to speed up negotiations, a position that Kiev officials are wary of.

“We [are] “We are not ready to compromise on very important things and values,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of Ukrainian President Zelensky, told reporters in Washington.

Ukrainians fear that without strong security guarantees – such as NATO membership, rather than vague talk of a bridge to such status – Russia could simply regroup and attack again in the future.

Vladimir Putin is intent on wearing Ukraine down on the battlefield and resisting the West’s determination to support him. In addition to launching guided aerial bombs against frontline positions and civilians in Kharkiv, Moscow has also targeted energy infrastructure across the country, causing increasingly frequent power outages and concerns about what winter might bring.

The US elections in November add an additional layer of uncertainty, as well as a question mark over the European Union’s ability to take over.

For Lt. Col. Anton Bayev, on the front line near Kharkiv, the ability to strike Russia may have been vital, but he now sees his enemy adapting its tactics – and not just with “mass assaults.”

Its losses now come from mortars and gliding bombs, while its Ukrainian forces remain short of ammunition.

“We need everything, and there is always a shortage,” he said.

“The boys are holding on. We’re all holding on. It’s hard, but everyone knows the price to pay and why it’s all being done.”

Additional reporting by Hanna Tsyba and Kyla Herrmannsen