In Ukraine’s East, Fears Grow of New Russian Power Play

AVDIIVKA, Ukraine—Arthur Volodymyrovych ducked his head down as he walked along the bottom of a trench very last week, hoping to steer clear of sniper fireplace from Russia-backed separatists positioned much less than 900 feet absent.

He has been stationed listed here as a soldier with Ukraine’s armed forces for 5 months—the trenches for significantly lengthier.

The rules of engagement are straightforward.

“When they assault us with fireplace, we answer with fireplace. And so it goes on,” reported Mr. Volodymyrovych, whose unit’s sleeve patch reads, “Ukraine or Demise,” emblazoned around a cranium. “I don’t see an finish to this war quickly,” he reported.

Seven decades back, pro-Russia separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk locations of Ukraine declared their independence, backed and armed by Moscow, which also seized the Crimean peninsula.