This way.
Don't stand there.
I’m in eastern Ukraine, on the frontline.
Just 80 metres away from me, on the other side of this trench, are Russian-backed separatists.
Tensions have flared here after Vladimir Putin moved troops and heavy weapons to Ukraine’s
border,
fuelling fears Moscow may invade.
Take a look at the spider-shaped metal structure.
Those are the enemy's positions.
Those are Russian soldiers on the opposite street?
Yes.
A war has been going on here for almost eight years,
in which 14,000 people have been killed.
With muddy trenches, fortified command posts and daily sniper fire,
the conflict in eastern Ukraine today resembles the first world war.
I agree that there are some similarities.
Similar is that we have our positions, the enemy's positions, and there's no man's land.
But in general, everything is much more advanced.
A lot of advanced military equipment that…
has made the war much more complicated and you shouldn't even compare it to the first
world war.
Why do you think Russia is threatening Ukraine now, particularly?
Somebody always starts flaunting weapons before talks take place.
Our task is to stand here and don't let anybody through,
don't let anyone take our land.
Time will come and we will reclaim what they took away from us. We're ready for anything.
Putin says that Ukraine and Russia are the same country and the same people. Is that true?
No. Why not?
Some say that our language is similar.
If I speak Ukrainian, a Russian wouldn't understand me.
If he spoke to me in Russian, I would understand him since that language had been forced upon
us for centuries.
If it were up to me I would've avenged every Ukrainian soldier tenfold.
I’m heading to a different frontline, in the village of Pisky just west of Donetsk,
which was the scene of fierce fighting in 2014.
Everybody knows why they are here.
We keep an eye on them.
They provoke us with fire. Single shots. They want us to react to provocation.
Do you respond or not?
Well, we're not allowed to respond. We comply with the Minsk agreements.
I think that if there's danger for life you have the right to respond.
Well, I agree with that but …
Our task is to preserve what we have as much as possible.
So now we’ll pull over here. And that’s it. Let’s get out.
We walk? Yeah.
This street is called the road of life, because it’s the supply point for the Ukrainian military.
But it’s pretty dangerous, there’s fire pretty much all the time.
I’ve been speaking to the commander who says that talks between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin
haven’t really changed the situation on the ground,
that the enemy are permanently fortifying their positions.
Were there to be a kind of Russian invasion, or a re-invasion of eastern Ukraine,
then this is the place where tanks from Moscow would be rolling.
We set off towards the frontline, taking care not to step on any mines or unexploded ordnance.
After around 300 metres, shots ring out. The Russian side is firing at us.
Three single shots were fired in that direction while we were walking.
A sniper's job, from the opposite side.
From there, right?
From there. The enemy is there.
And does it usually happen during the day or night?
Snipers can both work during the day and night. They are always shooting.
Let’s go.
The situation is tense.
At the top of the embankment, Ukrainian soldiers warn our camera operator that
he could lose his equipment, or even his fingers,
in getting footage of the separatist positions around Donetsk airport.
Starting from the airport … Well, the start of the runway …
And we're moving to the left …
Eastwards ...
The twin towers are there.
And the Donetsk airport.
It’s not just soldiers here.
Back in Avdiivka, there is a civilian population living on the frontline.
Are they firing at the city right now?
It happens sometimes. It does? The Kalashnikovs, artillery, or what?
I don't know, I'm not an expert. But you hear it?
Yes, it's pretty damn loud.
So you can hear it. Are you afraid or not?
We were afraid at first, but now we're used to it.
Nobody thought that the war would be so long.
Right.
We have hopes, but hope is fading.
Hope that ...?
That peace will happen, but we've been hoping for it the whole time.
Do you think that there will be Russian soldiers because, I was watching TV
and they said that there are many Russian soldiers close to here.
Yes, we heard about it as well, but I try not to think about it.
Not to think about it?
Yes, because my heart is aching anyway.
And if you're always thinking about it, it can drive you mad.
The rebels are close enough for the Ukrainians to hear enemy voices floating
across no man’s land.
The Ukrainian ministry of health wouldn't allow you to stay here. This location is cool.
Walnuts! See?
Delicious.
Misha takes me back to his frontline position, a former textiles factory in the east of the city,
just outside rebel-held Donetsk.
Is it possible to tell if they're Russian soldiers or local soldiers?
Of course they're Russian. The weapons they're using, the way they behave,
those aren't just a bunch of mineworkers, those are professional career soldiers.
Does Misha think Russia and Ukraine are moving in separate directions?
Of course. Why?
Because Russia is an outdated world. It's stuck in the Soviet Union.
There's no progress. They think that the whole world owes them something.
Ukraine is trying to make progress.
Even in baby steps, it's still moving forward.
In the direction of the west?
Towards Europe.
Are you afraid that you can get … well, killed?
To be honest, everyone is afraid. Only the dead aren't.
The Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline say they are well prepared for any Russian
military escalation, pointing out that they have been fighting here for eight long years already.
They say they are better equipped and trained than in 2014,
when the Ukrainian army wilted under superior Russian firepower.
They add they are ready and motivated to defend their country.