On Ukraine's eastern frontlines, in the deep winter cold, soldiers and civilians await Russia's next move.
Maria is stationed on Ukraine's eastern frontline. "We are standing our ground," she said
The conflict here has been frozen in place since 2014, when separatists, backed by Moscow, seized parts of the Donbas region. At least 13,000 people have been killed, both combatants and civilians. Now Western leaders are warning of something much worse - a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. If it comes, the eastern front would be an easy place to start, with the pro-Russian rebels here paving the way.
"I try to avoid politics and not to watch TV, I try not to get too worried," Maria said. "But we are ready. We have had a lot of training. I understand that it won't be like a training exercise, it will be hard for everyone. But our morale is high and we are standing our ground." "It was very hard to leave him," she said. "But since I was six years old my dream was to join the army. I didn't think that I would end up on the frontline, but I don't regret that I am here." Nearby, one of her brothers in arms chopped wood with an axe. The cold is a constant threat, like the separatists about a kilometre away.Maria walked through a warren of tunnels to her home away from home, a berth below ground.
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