The Russian leader himself had pledged to stop fighting for three days whilst grand commemorations for the end of World War Two took place in Moscow. But in the muddy battlefields of the Kharkiv region in Eastern Ukraine, soldiers toiling on the front line are highly suspicious of all diplomatic efforts.
Alina Shukh, 26, a Senior Sergeant in the Khartia Brigade, which is fighting Vladimir Putin’s troops every day, said the ceasefire was a “fake peace” because pausing the conflict for a matter of days is impossible.
European leaders met in Kyiv and delivered an ultimatum to Putin (Image: Getty)
“You need to understand it is very difficult to stop anything on the front line. All the plans and actions are still happening,” she told the Express.
“Any diplomatic stuff [can only take place] at the end [of the war]. But I cannot see that happening. We are just doing our job and preparing [for the next battle on the front line].”
Shukh’s message to world leaders was to be very wary of any promises made by Russia.
“Any kind of peace is almost impossible,” she added. “If we stop right now, what will be next? Russians will be preparing for the next war. [Ukraine] will also be preparing, but we will be in a weaker position because our partners will lose the motivation to support us in terms of money, weapons and so on.
“This is the worst-case scenario and, personally, I cannot imagine any peace right now.”
The region around Kharkiv has been devestated by the effects of the Russian invasion (Image: Getty)
Shukh’s concerns were echoed by her deputy battalion commander, Lt Col Roman Myrnyi.
“We have the hope that one day the war will end and with victory,” he told the Express from his secret command post.
“Hope is always present in our minds. But Europe must be realistic in this matter. Everything Putin says, which we have been observing for a very long time, is just a political game that leads to the death of our fighters.”
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English (US) · 