RFE/RL photojournalist Serhiy Nuzhnenko spent time with a Ukrainian infantry unit as its members endured moments of quiet solace interspersed with terror as they battled Russian invaders near the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha.
'I Don't Dream Anymore': Ukrainian Soldiers Await Their Fate In The Trenches
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A soldier of the 68th Independent Jager Brigade enjoys a cigarette in his trench during a lull in fighting on the front line in the southern Donetsk region on May 5.
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The small settlement of Volnovakha -- one of 19 districts in the Donetsk region -- once served as the administrative center of the Volnovakha region. It has been largely destroyed after months of fighting as both sides engage in trench warfare.
![Oleksandr, 44, scans the sky for enemy drones. "The first thing I will do after winning [the war] is go to my cabin. It's a small dacha near Khmelnytskiy -- a beautiful lake. And then I will get a job and rebuild Ukraine."](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-bf9d-08db51f017e0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Oleksandr, 44, scans the sky for enemy drones.
"The first thing I will do after winning [the war] is go to my cabin. It's a small dacha near Khmelnytskiy -- a beautiful lake. And then I will get a job and rebuild Ukraine."
"The first thing I will do after winning [the war] is go to my cabin. It's a small dacha near Khmelnytskiy -- a beautiful lake. And then I will get a job and rebuild Ukraine."
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Fired brass cartridge casings litter the ground of their trench position.
![Before the Russian invasion, Volodymyr, 49, worked at a construction site in Warsaw. "We need help -- healthy guys who, unfortunately, are hiding [from military service] now." He added: "I would be ashamed to behave like that. They have their own lives, and I chose mine."](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-0a00-0242-8cdf-08db51f16fa6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Before the Russian invasion, Volodymyr, 49, worked at a construction site in Warsaw.
"We need help -- healthy guys who, unfortunately, are hiding [from military service] now." He added: "I would be ashamed to behave like that. They have their own lives, and I chose mine."
"We need help -- healthy guys who, unfortunately, are hiding [from military service] now." He added: "I would be ashamed to behave like that. They have their own lives, and I chose mine."
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Volodymyr shows the tiny dugout of several square meters where they sleep.
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Lined with insulation and a light from a generator, the small dugout serves as the soldiers' home.
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Anti-tank grenade launchers, machine guns, and cartridges await their use.
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With both sides dug in, the peaceful interludes are often broken up by moments of terror with artillery and machine-gun fire.
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Oleksandr, 33, worked as an electrician at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.
"I don't dream about anything anymore. It's just one desire: to end the war with a victory." He added: "I will be here until the end. When the war is over, we will all return home."
"I don't dream about anything anymore. It's just one desire: to end the war with a victory." He added: "I will be here until the end. When the war is over, we will all return home."
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After a small break, a soldier returns to patrolling his trench position.
