A Ukrainian soldier strides through a muddy trench near the city of Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, before stopping to poke a rifle through a barrier toward the Russia-backed separatists stationed about 250 metres away.

For more than seven years, war has played out in this region of the country, claiming thousands of lives and suspending communities in a continual state of fear and uncertainty.

Now, the Ukrainian soldiers on this front line say they are prepared for whatever may come next.

“We won’t leave,” said Vadim, a commander with the government forces who spoke with a freelancer working for CBC and only wanted to be identified by