Azov brigade The elite unit taking brunt of Russian assault

Fifteen miles east of the garrison town of Lyman, a desperate fight has been taking place for months on Ukraine's eastern front.

- Dan Sabbagh

The once verdant Serebryansky pine forest has been reduced to burnt-out stumps, reminiscent of images from the Somme, destroyed by Russian attacks aimed at eliminating Ukrainian foxholes.

Fearful that the frontline could crack last summer, Ukraine's commanders deployed the Azov infantry brigade to the sector.

Their task was and is to repel what "Maslo", a 29-year-old staff sergeant with the unit's first battalion, described as "constant assaults, every day, sometimes for 24 hours". Occasionally the brigade makes dangerous counterattacks on foot.

Poor visibility and a mismatch of equipment makes the fight harder.

Maslo described a "more or less stable" artillery mismatch of five to one in favour of the Russians, though he believes it is closer to 10 to one in the most intense sectors of the front, such as during the winter battle of Avdiivka, which fell to the invaders in February.

Russian drone attacks are also proliferating, the soldier added, reflecting a successful shift by Moscow towards a war economy.

But perhaps the most serious problem the defenders face are Russian glide bombs, air launched from as far as 45 miles away by Su34 and Su-35 jets.

Makas, a staff sergeant in the second battalion, said as many as 100 to 150 glide bombs could be launched into a sector a day. The weapons could carry 500kg of explosives that could "blow a crater 30 metres wide and seven to 10 metres deep".

The larger bombs are feared by soldiers on the frontline - and intercepting them or the aircraft that launch them is the task of air defence, of which Ukraine is short, or possibly an F-16 fighter armed with long-range missiles, though few expect the western jets to be ready, with trained pilots, much before the end of the year and their final numbers are uncertain.