A few weeks after finally capturing the ruins of Chasiv Yar, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast that was a locus of a yearlong Russian offensive, the Russian survivors are bogged down in and around the town.

It’s Cossack to the future for the beleaguered Russian army. The Kremlin is using horses and donkeys to transport troops and supplies on the battlefield in Ukraine — as part of an attempt to apply 15th century tactics in 21st century warfare.