Ukrainian soldiers: The prospect of an end to the war seems completely illusory

Ukrainian soldiers express deep skepticism about peace talks, and the prospect of an end to the war in Ukraine seems illusory, writes The Independent, quoted by Focus.

There are no signs that the war on the eastern front will end soon. The soldiers believe that diplomatic efforts are too far removed from the harsh realities of the battlefield to be effective. Their doubts stem from what they say are months of unfulfilled promises by the US to end the war as soon as possible.

Few believe that the current negotiations can end the war, the publication emphasizes. Many see it as a brief lull in the fighting before Russia resumes its offensive with greater force.

"At the very least, the result would be a cessation of active hostilities - that would be the first sign of some kind of agreement. That is not happening now. And while these negotiations are going on, they (the Russians) are only strengthening their positions on the front line," said Dmitry Lovinyukov, commander of the Ukrainian artillery group of the 148th brigade.

It is significant that many Ukrainian soldiers joined the army in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, leaving their civilian jobs. Most of them believed that their military service would be short. Others didn't think about the future at all when they signed up - because at that moment it didn't exist for them.

When direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul in May, the soldiers of the 148th Brigade greeted the news with cautious hope, says a soldier with the call sign 'Bronson', who previously worked as a tattoo artist. But a few months later, the hope turned to dark humor. On the eve of the deadline that US President Donald Trump reportedly gave Putin (who later disappeared from the agenda amid talk of a meeting in Alaska), Russian fire did not sleep and thundered for several hours. The soldiers joke that the shelling was caused by the fact that the deadline had "expired.

The commander of the artillery group Dmitry Lovinyukov said on this occasion:

"We are on our own land. We have no way back. We stand here because there is no choice. No one else will come here to protect us.“

Sergey Filimonov, commander of the "Da Vinci Wolves" battalion of the 59th brigade, believes that the end of the war is not in sight and the current news in no way affects the long struggle for resources to equip the unit fighting in the Pokrovsk area.

"We are preparing for a long war. We have no illusions that Russia will stop. There may be a truce, but there will be no peace," he is categorical.

Filimonov dismisses recent talks about exchanging territories or signing agreements, considering them at best temporary solutions.

"Russia will not give up its goal of taking over all of Ukraine. It will attack again. The main question is what security guarantees we will receive and how we will put a pause," the military officer points out.

A soldier with the call sign "Mircha" from the 68th brigade told the publication that he has noticed that every time a new round of negotiations begins, the fighting around Pokrovsk, a key Russian priority during the summer campaign, escalates. According to him, every time peace talks begin, "it gets scary at the front".

The War in Ukraine

The commander of the "Kara Nebesna" UAV crew from the Rubizhka Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, Andrey Otchenash, previously stated that the situation in the Pokrovskoye direction is very difficult, there are now "an unrealistically large number of Russians".

At the same time, according to him, the Russian troops have changed their tactics and are no longer trying to gain a foothold in the cities, but are striving to advance as far north as possible from Pokrovsk, finding vulnerable spots in the Ukrainian defense.