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The roads are rough out here. They remind me of the woeful state of the highway between Mount Isa and across the Barkley to Tennant Creek during an army convoy north in 1989. But back then, and in that region, there was no war.
I am traveling along the eastern front on Ukraine. We pass through places that once unknown to people outside Ukraine, are now commonly recognized towns and cities. Kharkiv, Izyum, Oskil, Kramatorsk, Lyman, and the list goes on.
The roads are busy with a dizzying array of civilian vehicles, taken into service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, all painted green. There are Mazdas, Toyotas, Hyundais, Fords, and many other brands I don’t recognize. Many have drone jammers on the top of their vehicles. And they drive fast. Really crazy fast. But then, the threat of drones is ever present, and fast is better than slow in the hope of outrunning marauding Russian FPVs. Civilian vehicles also undertake many of the essential logistics tasks because they are less of a target than larger military vehicles that might be used for such missions.
During our journey here, we pass dozens of ruined and abandoned villages. Wrecked churches, feature prominently in these settlements. Along some of the roads are the red signs with white writing warning of minefields beyond. Every now and then, we sight old fighting positions - trench lines and vehicle scrapes – from the fighting that occurred here during the late 2022 Ukrainian counter offensive.
Finally, after hours of driving, we reach our destination.
I have come to visit the 53rd Brigade. Officially, it is the 53rd Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. I am welcomed at the brigade headquarters by the brigade commander, whose callsign is Staff. He is a veteran of a decade of war, having fought in the east as a young officer. At the start of this war, he was a battalion commander of trained, professional soldiers, many of whom are now dead or retired due to their wounds. He also commanded the 47th Brigade during the 2023 counteroffensive and now commands the 53rd brigade on an important part of Ukraine’s eastern frontline.
I am about to receive a fantastic tutorial on command in modern war.