War in Ukraine: Russia’s ‘meat attacks’ shake Ukraine’s defenses

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

They call them “flesh raids”: waves of Russian soldiers attacking their defensive positions, sometimes nearly a dozen times a day.

Lieutenant Colonel Anton Bayev of the Khartia Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard says that one wave after another of attacks could reach the front lines north of Kharkiv within a few hours.

“The Russians, in most cases, use these units just to see where our firearms are and to constantly exhaust our units,” he said.

“Our guys are in position and fighting, and when you have four or five waves of the enemy coming at you in one day and you have to destroy them endlessly, it is very difficult – not only physically but also psychologically.”

This tactic has resulted in horrific casualties in Russia since Moscow’s latest offensive began two months ago. In May and June, around 1,200 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded every day, the highest rate since the war began, according to Western officials.

The attackers are usually quickly detected by drones and the Russians leave their dead and wounded on the battlefield, says Lt. Col. Bayev. “Their main task is simply to carry out flesh attacks and completely exhaust us.”

This tactic is a sign that Russia wants to exploit its most important advantage: numerical strength.

In Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, Captain Ivan Sekach of Ukraine’s 110th Brigade compares what he sees to an assembly line that delivers Russians to be killed but still allows them to advance only slowly.

Russia has a much larger population than Ukraine. Some of the victims of the attacks are former prisoners, but Russia can also recruit people through one-time payments, sometimes thousands of dollars.

And from the Russian side, there have been complaints about “crippled regiments” in which wounded soldiers are sent back into combat. One video shows dozens of men, some on crutches, appealing to their commanders because they are supposedly wounded and need hospital treatment, but are instead sent back into combat.

All this, Western politicians say, means that Moscow can continue to send soldiers – even poorly trained ones – directly to the front as long as they are killed or wounded.

Ukraine could not withstand Russian tactics even if it had numerical superiority, partly because of a different attitude toward casualties. A senior general was fired in recent weeks after being accused of using what is often described as a Soviet tactic: sending people to the front.

“There is a lot of criticism because we have lost many of our people because of our Soviet mindset and strategy,” says Ivan Stupak, a former intelligence officer. “Our human resources are limited. We have no choice but to think about our people.”

The Russian advance has been halted in the Kharkiv area, but in the east Russia’s grueling advance is making slow but steady progress.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of Russians. And they try to do this rolling operation centimeter by centimeter, inch by inch, 100 meters a day, 200 meters a day. And unfortunately, they are successful,” says Stupak.

There is discontent in Kyiv about the way the West is providing its support. A senior government official complains that while the aid is enough to prevent defeat, it is not enough to guarantee victory.

Western officials acknowledge that 2024 was a tough year for Ukraine. Delays in the arrival of American military aid led to a significant strain on defense facilities, costing territory and lives.

“It seems to be a so-called incremental approach,” Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told the BBC.

“We are gradually receiving weapons, and my impression is that our Western allies are giving us a little bit of weapons and then waiting to see what happens next, as if they are afraid of what they call escalation.”

Lifting restrictions on the movement of American weapons across the border into Russia made a difference and helped stop Moscow’s attack on Kharkiv.

“If we had to fight with our hands tied, we would just bleed to death,” says Mereshko. “That is why it is crucial that we are allowed to deploy long-range missiles on Russian territory, and we have already achieved results.”

However, a Ukrainian government official said the longer-range attacks on Russia had only had a mitigating effect and would not fundamentally change the dynamics of the war.

“We are heading for a stalemate,” says former intelligence agent Ivan Stupak, admitting that this could ultimately lead to the “bitter pill” of negotiations.

During a visit to Kyiv this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban suggested declaring a ceasefire first to speed up negotiations – a position that is met with skepticism in Kyiv.

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

Ukrainians fear that Russia could simply regroup and attack again in the future if there are no hard security guarantees – such as NATO membership, rather than just vague talks about a transition to such a status.

Vladimir Putin hopes to wear down Ukraine on the battlefield and outstrip the West’s willingness to support it. Moscow has not only dropped guided bombs on front lines and civilians in Kharkiv, but has also attacked energy infrastructure across the country, leading to increasingly frequent power outages and fears of the approaching winter.

The US elections in November bring an additional layer of uncertainty and the question remains whether the European Union is actually able to fill any gaps.

For Lt. Col. Anton Bayev on the front lines near Kharkiv, the ability to penetrate Russia may have been vital, but now he must watch his enemy adapt his tactics—and not just with “flesh attacks.”

His losses are currently due to mortar shells and glide bombs, and his Ukrainian forces continue to lack ammunition.

“We need everything, and it is always missing,” he says.

“The guys are holding on. We’re all holding on. It’s hard, but everyone knows the price and why all this is being done.”