A Russian Battalion Is Decimated At The Siverskyi Donets River (Couplets) Poem by Gert Strydom

Despite a thousand soldiers and equipment,
reinforced by shipment after shipment,

some people will see it as past sheer madness,
to bring to livid Putin some gladness,

others as desperation in a great disaster,
as if to cross the river they would master.

They tried to force a battalion a river to cross,
over engineer pontoon bridges at a great loss,

tanks fired at own infantry to move,
no lack of trying they would approve

and into the river destroyed, dead or drown
a battalion and their equipment went down.

Rebuild trice the two bridges over the river fits
but shot, bombed, shelled and blown to bits

on both river-banks explosive hell did obliterate,
Russians from duty and not from hate,

they were forced to risk a crossing,
until of a battalion was not left a thing.


[Poet's note: seventy three Russian tanks and armoured vehicles were destroyed and about s thousand Russian soldiers died.]