The Heroes of the Donetsk Airport

I want to share with you a single instance – out of hundreds similar ones – from the Russian -Ukrainian war of 2014.

As you know, the Ukrainian city of Donetsk fell to the invaders several months ago. However, a group of Ukrainian soldiers managed to hold on to the Donetsk Airport. These soldiers have been sitting at that dark, unheated airport for months.

First, Russia sent Chechens to take the airport. Ukrainians beat them back. Now the Pentagon is studying the brilliant military strategies Ukrainians used in that combat.

Then Russians sent regular troops. As you can imagine, the weaponry and the supplies these troops have access to are incomparable to those of the stranded and exhausted Ukrainian soldiers. Still,  Ukrainians beat them back.

The Russians grew very annoyed and sent their famous special ops battalion to take the airport. This elite battalion had fought in Afghanistan,  Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, etc. Throughout its entire existence  (since 1982), this special ops force lost only 28 combatants. And this week they came to the Donetsk Airport.

In one day – just one – the starving, exhausted Ukrainians who are fighting literally half-naked beat back the Russians, killing 32 soldiers of the special ops battalion. This is more people than the battalion lost in its entire history.

A Russian lieutenant -general came to the airport yesterday to beg the Ukrainians to release the bodies of the dead Russian combatants so that they can at least be buried. Of course, he will get back the corpses. And of course, more Russian soldiers will come to Donetsk to lay down their lives at the Donetsk Airport.

Meanwhile, the support for Putin is growing both at home and abroad.