Photos: On the front lines, Ukrainians brace for possible attack

On the front lines, Ukrainians brace for possible attack

Denis, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, holds a machine gun in Marinka, Ukraine. The 38-year-old was previously a welder. Now he's on the front lines just a few hundred yards away from Russian-backed separatists.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Updated 0448 GMT (1248 HKT) February 16, 2022

About 500 yards away from Russian-backed separatists, a group of Ukrainian soldiers waits for a fight it's sure is coming.

And the men are strangely relaxed about it all, according to photographer Timothy Fadek, who spent time with the soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region.

"They have embraced the inevitability," Fadek said. "I was talking to one of the soldiers and he said: 'It's inevitable. We've accepted this inevitability of an attack.' And then there was a little bit of an argument between two soldiers. One said, 'The Russians will not come across the border, they will attack from the sea,' meaning the Sea of Azov. Another soldier disagreed with both those assessments and said, 'No, the attack will come from Belarus.' "

But while they might not agree with where an attack will come from, they are all 100% convinced it is going to happen.

"They've resigned themselves," Fadek said. "But they're extremely relaxed. There is not a hint of nervousness in their faces. They're ready to fight. They've been ready for many years now. They don't want to. I asked them, 'Do you want this war?' And they're like, 'Of course not.' "

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop buildup near the border spurring fears Moscow could soon launch an invasion. The Kremlin has denied it is planning to attack, arguing NATO support for Ukraine constitutes a growing threat on Russia's western flank.

In Muratove, a Ukrainian town about a 20-minute drive from the front lines, people are much more nervous than the soldiers, Fadek said. But they, too, seem to be resigned to their fate.

When asked what he thinks about the possibility of an attack, one farmer shrugged his shoulders.

"It will happen," he said, "but there's nothing anyone can do to stop it."

Fighters with the Right Sector, a paramilitary organization that has also become a political party, eat lunch at the group's headquarters in Novohrodivka, Ukraine. The Right Sector formed in 2013 during the Maidan revolution in Kyiv, and in 2014 and 2015 it fought many battles against Russian-supported separatists.

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Ukrainian soldiers walk past a destroyed building in Marinka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Ukrainian Navy Capt. Oleksandr Hrigorevskiy stands on the dock of Mariupol's port with his ship, the Donbas, behind him. "I don't expect a war at sea with the Russians," he said.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Ukrainians coming from the separatist-held territory stop at the Novotroitskoye checkpoint.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Anna Yvleva, a 30-year-old member of the Ukrainian military, commands an infantry squad of six men. She is married to an officer in the same battalion. Her four children are being cared for by their grandmother while their parents are deployed on the front lines. Yvleva told photographer Timothy Fadek she was a teacher before she joined the military four years ago.

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Zoya Kralya, 66, is one of the last remaining residents of Vodyane, Ukraine, a tiny hamlet in the Donetsk area. Ever since her husband died a few years ago, she has lived alone and tends to her goats and a number of dogs and cats. "If there is war, I will shelter in the basement, stocked with food and water in case I have to be underground for weeks," she told Fadek. "The conflict in 2014 and 2015 was the worst thing I experienced in my life. I don't want to live through it again."

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Ukrainian soldiers are posted in Marinka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A member of the Ukrainian military holds a periscope as he climbs down from a lookout point near Shyrokyne, Ukraine.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Local residents drive past an apartment building in Marinka. The building was badly damaged during fighting in 2015 between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A Ukrainian soldier mans a gunner position in a front-line trench in Avdiivka, Ukraine.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A Ukrainian soldier is seen at a front-line position in Marinka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Ukrainian soldiers take shelter in a front-line trench in Pisky, Ukraine. This trench was about 100 meters (109 yards) from separatist positions, Fadek said.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Boys fish for carp and perch in Marinka. "They don't read the news and have no opinion about the Russian military buildup," Fadek said. "But they said their parents were extremely worried and watch television news constantly."

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A Ukrainian soldier walks through a destroyed industrial zone in Avdiivka that, in some areas, is only 50 meters (about 55 yards) from the separatist trenches.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Zhanna, 42, is a lieutenant and doctor in the Ukrainian army, based in Avdiivka. Before joining the army last year, she was a pediatric physician in a local hospital. Her husband is an officer in the army. "I'm not sure that there will be an attack by Russia," she said, "but I am ready to treat the soldiers in case they are wounded in fighting."

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Soldiers keeps watch at their front-line position in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A Ukrainian soldier holds a cat in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Ukrainian soldiers keep watch on the front line in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Soldiers sit in the back of a truck in Slov'yanoserbs'k, Ukraine.

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A soldier stands in a trench in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A resident rides a bicycle in Marinka. "Although this small city is less than 15 miles from the separatist front line, residents try to continue their lives as normal as possible," Fadek said.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Viktoria, right, watches television with her 10-year-old daughter and her son and his girlfriend in Marinka. When asked if she had a message for the world leaders involved in the conflict Viktoria said: "Stop. Just stop. It's enough. Think about your children if they were here."

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A woman walks past a damaged apartment building in Marinka. "The mood was somber, depressed and resigned," Fadek said. "People are going through the motions of their daily lives."

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A look inside a Ukrainian trench on the front lines.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Ukrainian soldiers guard a front-line trench position.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A Ukrainian soldier keeps watch in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A destroyed car is seen outside a damaged building in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A Ukrainian soldier walks through the industrial zone in Avdiivka.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Men play billiards in Marinka during a local tournament.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

In the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, near the front lines, life goes on for teenage rock band Metamorphoza. Maksym, 14, is the drummer. Valeria, 15, is on bass guitar, and Vadim, 15, plays lead guitar and is the main songwriter. All are from Avdiivka, and they have been playing together for two years. "Sometimes we can hear the shelling at night, but we try to block it out," Maksym said. Valeria added, "We are used to it."

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A Ukrainian soldier walks through a destroyed industrial zone in Avdiivka that has seen heavy shelling over the years.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A farmer in Muratove, Ukraine, chops wood while family members collect it to sell to a nearby Ukrainian army base.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

These Ukrainian soldiers Fadek spent time were extremely relaxed, he said. "They have embraced the inevitability."

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A woman sells dried fish on the road leading to Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

A soldier walks with dogs in a front-line trench. "I've been in the trenches many times before in the summer," Fadek said. "This is the first time it was in the winter. Visually, because the trenches and the landscape are covered in snow, it reminds me of World War I trenches. Cold misery."

Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN