Daniel Montano was in Bakhmut just a week and a half ago. - The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

[BootinUp]

A former U.S. military servicemember now fighting for Ukrainian forces recalls the sacrifices, the optimism, and the stress of his multiple deployments into the eastern Ukrainian city.

TIM MAK
MAY 21, 2023

Daniel Montano* was in Bakhmut just a week and a half ago.

The former U.S. military servicemember spent much of the last year fighting on behalf of the Ukrainian army, making repeated trips into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

And so news about the reported fall of Bakhmut — or the city’s near-capture by Russian forces — has hit him hard.

He has known many Ukrainians, and a small handful of Americans, who had fought and died to keep that town from Russian control.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this city, the multiple times I've been there,” Montano told me in an interview Sunday afternoon in Kyiv. “I know it's not the end of the story; I know we will be back there, and we will reclaim it. I look forward to that.”

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Sitting in the relatively-safer city of Kyiv, the former U.S. servicemember reflected that despite the danger of the war-torn city, he often felt more comfortable there.

“I felt more at peace — or less stressed out — when I was in Bakhmut, then I feel when I'm in Poland or Kyiv or any other place,” he said. “The psychological aspect of it is that you're not worried about anything other than survival and the guys around you -- so any of the worldly problems don't really bother you.”

He also shared heart-stopping video of his most recent trip into Bakhmut a week and a half ago:

link for the full article and video
https://counteroffensive.substack.com/p/bakhmut-hangs-by-thread-us-soldier