Ukrainian soldiers fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer near a frontline in the Donetsk region, June 6, 2022. It's clear that what the Ukrainians really want from the West is more big guns. PHOTO BY STRINGER/REUTERS
James Challice, a 42-year-old Canadian Forces veteran, travelled to Ukraine in late March and has been training young recruits to defend their country.
In a video interview with Today’s Northumberland community news site in April, the Cobourg, Ont., man said he is confident Ukrainians will take back their country because “the morale is phenomenal.”
In recent days though, Challice has been fighting at the front and in an exchange with contacts in Canada laid out a far less optimistic synopsis.
Challice said he is lucky to be alive after taking part in a mission that didn’t go well. “We don’t have enough big guns or ammo to keep pushing forward,” he said.
The Russians are well-equipped with infantry fighting vehicles and tanks, he said, while the Ukrainians have no artillery support. “We’re moving in the tree lines with just Javelins and N-LAWs (shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons). But we are moving without mortars. The problem is we are sitting ducks for their artillery and sniper fire — the advance is not happening,” he said. “To be honest, we are not doing good. We go in with eight to fight 50. Down here, it’s 5-10 km fields, separated by drainage ditches and that’s the only way to move. We know where they are and they know where we are at all times … (We) need to get big guns down here, like yesterday.”