Their faces tell the story of the war without a word being spoken.
Two battle-weary Ukrainian soldiers return from their positions in the Donetsk region, exhausted but united after fighting for 130 days.
Denis, callsign ‘Bars’, and Dmytro, callsign ‘K2’, walked arm in arm in the frost after taking part in the defence of embattled Kostyantynivka.
The industrial city has been under heavy Russian attack as Vladimir Putin’s troops continue to grind away in eastern Ukraine.
Russian troops carried out 14 assaults in the battle-scarred region on Wednesday, according to the General Staff of Ukraine.
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The soldiers from the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade have only had their first names and call signs disclosed.
But their haunting stares as they returned from the front gave a stark impression as to the gruelling nature of the fighting.
Manpower challenges and the incredible danger of movement on the front mean Kyiv’s forces spend long periods in their positions.
The 93rd has described how Russian bombs have destroyed ‘entire microdistricts’, with ‘kamikaze drones’ hunting for targets.
Fresh graves lie between houses where locals have buried neighbours in a hurry under the constant threat of enemy attack, the brigade said.
But according to reports on Ukrainian media platforms, the 93rd has managed to doggedly defend the city of 4,300 residents.
Ground robots have been used in the defence of the city’s south-western outskirts, according to the brigade.
One breakthrough, where Putin’s troops used heavy armoured vehicles in an attempt to take the city, was seen off by a joint operation mounted by the defenders, according to Ukrainian military media.
First-person view drones were deployed by a strike group as it destroyed tanks and other armoured vehicles during the engagement in October.
The 93rd released the pictures in a week when Ukrainian forces have reportedly counter-attacked Russian forces in Kupiansk, a former rail logistics hub in the north-eastern Kharkiv oblast.
Putin’s troops were said to be ‘continuing to conduct daily attacks’, with Kyiv’s forces continuing to defend the centre of the town, according to the UK Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The 93rd has a distinguished history of fighting Russia in some of the fiercest and most critical battles of the four-year war.
On its website, the brigade says it has ’25 years of combat experience’, ranging from peacekeeping missions to war with Russia, starting from the outset of Putin’s military aggression against Ukraine in 2014.
The 93rd’s soldiers were among the first defenders to fight on Ukraine’s borders at the outset of the war on February 24, 2022.
Soldiers had to break through saboteurs ‘blinded by propaganda’ who blocked trains and placed iron obstacles on railway tracks.
‘When the brigade took the state border under protection, Russian mortars were fired at the army for the first time,’ the 93rd says.
The brigade was also involved in the defence of Donetsk airport in September 2014, taking part in fierce battles as they fought among the ‘cyborgs’ who defended the facility for 244 days.
In August, the 93rd was said to have retaken the villages of Hruzke and Vesele near the city of Dobropillia, also in Donetsk, when Russian forces attempted to break through. Robots equipped with machine guns opened fire on ‘concentrations’ of Russian troops after driving up to the enemy at almost point-blank range, according to the brigade.
A reconnaissance company and other types of uncrewed systems and artillery were also said to have been used.
In contrast to the callous disregard for life shown by the Russian military, the brigade’s commander Shamil Krutkov has said: ‘The glorious traditions of the Kholodny Yar fighters and the invaluable experience gained in battles are the hallmark of the 93rd Brigade.
‘For us, the life of every individual is of the utmost value.
‘The responsibility of commanders for each soldier and the mutual support among comrades is the foundation on which we have stood and will continue to stand.’
The destruction and sacrifices being made on the ground where revealed by the 93rd as peace talks continued this week.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump said that ‘I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever’ towards an agreement to stop the fighting.
However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that ‘we again heard signals from Moscow that they are preparing to make next a year of war.’
The Ukrainian president continued: ‘These signals are not only for us.
‘It is crucial that our partners see them, and not only see them but also respond – especially partners in the United States, who often say that Russia wants to end the war.’
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