Bodies of Russian soldiers lie on the front line in the village of Andriyevka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on September 16, 2023, in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukrainian troops left dozens of dead Russian soldiers behind.

     Russian soldiers lie on the front line in the village of Andrievka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on September 16, 2023, in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukrainian troops fought their way through scorched forests for two months. It demonstrated the difficulty of the counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine. When we collected the bodies, we found the body of 19-year-old Riley, killed in the first battle, and Zima. Other bodies were carefully bagged and carried through the woods. Ukrainian troops left dozens of dead Russian soldiers behind.

  　Beginning on September 14, Ukrainian forces finally carried out the recapture of the village of Andriivka, more than three months after receiving orders to do so. Breaking through Russian artillery fire and grenades fired from drones, they fired on Russian troops fleeing in front of them, and September 14 came and went in the blink of an eye. Ukrainian troops fired artillery into the small village of Andriyevka and set up a smoke screen over the main street. Russian artillery hit Russian soldiers who retreated or surrendered. The last 100 meters were a mixture of blood, metal, trash, spent bullets, and shredded armor.

　Ukrainian troops went door to door, taking prisoners of Russian soldiers and killing those who fought back. Even after the tail end of the Russian army was driven out, the village of Andriivka remained under constant bombardment, drones blaring from both sides. on september 16, the Ukrainian flag was raised over Andriivka. Andriyivka was now nothing but piles of bricks and burnt trees, and the smell of death was in the air.

　About 13,000 more Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the October-December offensive around the Avdivka-Novopavlivka axis in eastern Ukraine. on December 17, 2023, Russian forces lost nearly 350,000 men since they invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The number of Russian troops lost was approximately 1,000.

WARNING: The bodies of Russian soldiers lie at the frontline in Andriivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. Ukrainian brigade’s two-month battle to fight its way through a charred forest shows the challenges of the country’s counteroffensive in the east and south. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)