Peace talks are in parallel universe, say Ukraine front-line troops
Matthew GoddardWhile Moscow considers a temporary ceasefire, its military machine continues to press its advantage on the front line. Diplomatic negotiations can be slow and difficult. But on the battlefield, they can be measured in lost lives.
At a military hospital in eastern Ukraine, the injured arrive by ambulance in waves. Here, there's an obvious disconnect between diplomacy taking place, far from the fighting, and the brutality of battle – where human bodies are still being smashed, shredded and scarred by bombs and bullets.
We watch another two dozen injured Ukrainian soldiers being loaded on to a bus to be taken to a hospital in Dnipro – some walking wounded, others carried on stretchers. The bus is fitted out with medical equipment to monitor the injured as they're driven fast over potholed roads.
The men on board are the less severely wounded. Most have been hit by shrapnel. The cause is often what's now the most prolific and feared weapon on the front line – drones.
None of those we talked to believe this war will be ending any time soon. Thirty-year-old Maksym is on a stretcher with an IV drip to relieve some of the pain from several shrapnel wounds across his body. He says he'd heard the talk of a temporary 30-day ceasefire, but adds: "I consider Putin a murderer and murderers don't agree so easily."
Matthew GoddardVova, who's sitting up nearby, says: "I don't believe it." He says that near the besieged city of Pokrovsk, they were facing Russian storm attacks every single day. "I doubt there will be a truce," he tells me.
Another soldier named Maksym says this is the second time he has been injured. "I don't believe there will be a ceasefire," he says. "I had a lot of friends who are not with us any more.
"I would like to believe that all will be good. But you can't trust Russia. Never."
The large medical bus is operated by Ukraine's Volunteer Army Medical Battalion – known as the Hospitallers. They transport scores of injured soldiers every day.
Sofiia, a 22-year-old medical student, has been working with the team for the last 18 months. She too is sceptical about the chances of a ceasefire: " I cannot believe it, but I really wish it would happen," she says.
She tells me that when she first heard the news that the US and Ukraine had agreed to press for a ceasefire, Russian drones were flying over their base, being engaged by Ukrainian air defences. To her, talk of peace is from a parallel universe.
Sofiia says "at least it's good that Ukraine and America are talking again". But as for hopes of any ceasefire, she points to the recent past.
"Looking at all the ceasefire calls that we had in the past, those didn't work. How is this going to work":[]}