Ukrainian border guards are repelling near-daily Russian infantry assaults in the dense Serebryansky forest, where limited visibility and rugged terrain have constrained the use of heavy equipment, according to video released by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
The fighters featured in the video are part of the Commandant’s Office of Rapid Response “Shkval” – or “Squall” – a frontline unit engaged in intense close-quarters combat as Russian forces attempt to gain ground.
The Serebryansky forest is in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region, near the town of Kreminna. It’s become a key battleground, where the dense trees make it hard to use tanks or heavy vehicles, so most of the fighting happens on foot.
Control of the forest is key to launching or repelling offensives toward strategic areas in the Donbas and neighboring Kharkiv region.
“The occupier looked at me, I looked at him — he opened fire,” recalled a border guard identified by the callsign Bach. He said Russian troops had crept so close during one shift change that he encountered an enemy soldier face-to-face.
Russian forces have relied heavily on infantry, often backed by aviation when ground assaults falter, Ukrainian servicemen said. One fighter described a combat engagement where he was roused by the sound of gunfire and rushed into battle wearing only one boot.
“I didn’t even have time to put on my boots – I ran in one boot and the two of us took the fight,” he said. “I fired the machine gun, then let the barrel cool down and fired again.”
Ukrainian drones supported them during that firefight, and the unit reported that up to 30 Russian troops were eliminated. But the next two weeks brought relentless pressure.
“In those moments, I really wanted to live. My only thought was whether I had enough ammo,” another fighter said.
When ground assaults failed, Russian aircraft targeted their position.
“The blast tossed me like a concrete mixer – It was thrown all over the dugout,” Bach said.
“You feel as if something is happening to your organs inside. Then you see a fire in front of you and the feeling that you are flying up, everything is flying at you. It feels like everything – you’ve already died.”
After the blast, Bach said he was thrown into a crater.
“My brother-in-law ran up, grabbed me, and pulled me out. We were lucky that our position was strengthened,” he added.
With only two working machine guns left, the border guards received the order to withdraw to a nearby position. Russian troops briefly entered their former trenches – but within days, the Ukrainian unit counterattacked and reclaimed their ground.
Despite the intense combat and daily threats, the fighters of “Shkval” continue to hold the line in one of the war’s most contested and strategically vital battlefields.