It’s the summer of 2023 and Ukrainian troops are furiously digging trenches under Russian fire in the pine forests outside Kreminna. Suddenly, a rocket crashes to the ground, and Zhakhar, a special forces sergeant, shouts at his troops to retreat to the car.
It was a dispiriting pushback, but at least it gave him a chance to inspect his latest battlefield trophy. Examining two boxes in his hand, he saw markings that were not Russian, but clearly Chinese.
