But as a defending force, Ukraine has an advantage in striking from entrenched positions at Russian troops as they advance over open ground and into artillery range. For soldiers, artillery battles on the open plains can bring instant death or become drawn-out, harrowing ordeals. About 300 Ukrainian soldiers died in a retreat from the town after Russian forces reneged on a cease-fire agreement. Bridges, roads and fields all can be mined and possibly destroyed to channel Russian forces toward Ukrainian soldiers who are dug into defensive positions. “They want to meet force on force in open fields and go at it.”The post Putin’s Ukraine Gamble Pivots to a Very Different Battlefield appeared first on New York Times.
