We are defending our Motherland' - on the frontline in eastern Ukraine

Orla Guerin

BBC News, eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian soldier
BBCCopyright: BBC
In a muddy trench on the frontlines in Zolote, in eastern Ukraine, troops told us this was just another day in a long war.

They have been fighting Kremlin backed separatists since 2014. They say their orders have not changed since President Putin recognised the two separatist enclaves as independent republics.

His move could herald the arrival of Russian troops on the frontlines – despatched as “peacekeepers’ to protect civilians in the breakaway areas.

The Ukrainians say there has already been a Russian military presence across the frontlines for years. They only difference is that now it would be official.

“If the Russians come, they won’t be motivated like us,” one soldier told us. “We are defending our Motherland so we will stand our ground. And it won’t be like 2014 (when Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula). We have a strong army now.”

During our visit there was incoming shelling, and about half an hour later the Ukrainians returned fire.

The fear is the situation on the frontlines could escalate. There is more at stake here than the future of Ukraine. There are long term implications for security in Europe.

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