Ukrainian soldiers fighting pro-Russia rebels on the country’s eastern frontline say only NATO membership can protect Kiev against Russia, as the West tries to deter Moscow from launching an attack.
Stationed in the heavily damaged village of Pisky just outside the separatist stronghold city of Donetsk, soldiers patrol trenches in freezing temperatures.
Behind them stand residential houses destroyed by almost eight years of war, abandoned Soviet-era cars still in their garages.
Fears have mounted in recent weeks that Russia — which has massed around 100,000 troops on its side of the border — could launch a large-scale attack.
The US and its allies have warned Moscow of unprecedented sanctions should its troops launch an offensive.
But soldiers say NATO membership — not sanctions — will help them.
Viktor, 56, who served in the Soviet army in this youth, once saw NATO as an enemy.
But today, he has no doubt that Ukraine should join the Western alliance, set up to counter the Soviet Union.
“If Russia launches an attack against us, it will be very difficult for us to stand on our own,” said the moustachioed soldier, who held a Kalashnikov on his chest.
He said NATO has not taken in Ukraine because “it does not want to worsen the conflict with Russia”.
The Kremlin has warned that its ex-Soviet southern neighbour joining the alliance is a red line for Moscow.
Putin has demanded “legal guarantees” from the West that would exclude NATO expanding eastwards in the future.
Much to Ukraine’s annoyance, the United States and European countries have made clear on numerous occasions that Kiev’s membership of NATO is not on the cards.
But Washington helps train Ukrainian forces and has committed more than $2.5 billion to bolster a military that crumbled in the face of Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.
– ‘Rely only on ourselves’ –
Western countries have instead threatened Russia with a massive coordinated sanctions response if Ukraine is attacked.
But for the soldiers on the front line, sanctions are not enough.
They say Russia’s stance on Ukraine has not changed since multiple rounds of sanctions imposed on Moscow since 2014.
Moscow continues to support separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has so far left more than 13,000 dead.
Vladyslav, 22, believes only NATO membership can save Ukraine.
“If a country like Russia, an aggressor, invades our territory, then the NATO family will have to help us with troops and arms”, the young soldier told AFP.
Another, also named Viktor, said Western sanctions have not been effective and “do not cause considerable damage to the Russian economy”.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with EU and NATO leaders in Brussels this week, said he would prefer sanctions to be imposed before — rather than after — Russia acts.
“To be honest, no-one is particularly interested in the sanctions policy” after the invasion, he said in Brussels.
He called on the West to adopt “powerful” sanctions without delay.
In the trenches of eastern Ukraine, many soldiers are left disappointed with what they believe to be a slow Western response.
The West “pursues its own interests” said Andriy, 49, a former miner who spent six years fighting separatists.
“It’s better to rely only on ourselves,” he says.
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