Ukraine’s new recruits prepare to enter the ‘meat grinder’ of Bakhmut

The teenage Ukrainian soldier spoke quietly, but with conviction, an assault rifle in his hands. Artillery boomed in the distance, a constant reminder of the nearby "meat grinder" of Bakhmut, the scene of the bloodiest fighting of the war.

Vadym Vlasenko, 18, known as "Maloy" (The Kid) to his fellow soldiers, is among the new recruits that Ukraine has deployed to its eastern Donetsk region to boost its battered but determined forces.

Until six months ago, this fresh-faced, soft-spoken soldier was studying catering at college. After little more than 40 days of intense military training, he is now preparing to be sent to the apocalyptic ruins of Bakhmut. He is yet to fire a weapon in anger.

"I thought for around two months before