Can Ukraine face another year of war?

Ukraine is winning the war on the ground. Many of his soldiers are tired and weary after three years of fighting. Question – can the world survive another year of war?

Their forces are still resisting Russian advances in the east. But they are about to be encircled near the town of Kurakhove – something that has been happening in recent weeks.

The Black Pack, a mud unit, is trying to stop their encirclement around Kurakhove. The Russians are approaching from three sides.

We meet the group at the safe house, and take a break from the battle. They are not your ordinary soldiers. They include a vegan chef, a mechanic, a web developer and an artist. A group of friends with different opinions. Some call themselves anarchists. They all volunteered to fight.

Surt, their 31-year-old commander, joined the army shortly after the Russian invasion. He tells me at first that he thought the war would last three years. Now, he says, he is mentally preparing himself for another decade of fighting.

Everyone knows that Donald Trump wants to end the war. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s president have also indicated they are open to talks, but the idea of ​​a possible deal seems unlikely.

So far, it’s just a story.

Surt is not ignoring Trump’s intentions.

“He’s an ambitious guy and I think he’s going to try to do it,” he says. But he is worried about the outcome of any talks.

“We are real, we understand that there will be no justice in Ukraine – many will have to swallow that their houses were destroyed by stones and bullets, that their loved ones were killed, and this will be difficult.”

When I ask him if he prefers to talk or to continue fighting – Surt emphatically replies: “Keep fighting.”

It is a feature that is displayed by many units. Serhiy, a vegetarian, believes that negotiations will only stop the war for a while – “and the conflict will return in a year or two.”

He admits that the current situation is not “good” for Ukraine. But he is also ready to continue fighting. Killing, he says, “is an occupational accident.”

David, an artist, thinks Trump is worryingly unpredictable. “He can be the best or the worst in Ukraine,” he says.

This section ends one week ahead with the next break. But even when they are resting, they continue to teach, because they say, it makes them happy.

In the cold field they go through the holes to shoot their mud. The group has recently been contacted by Denys, who voluntarily left the safety of his home in Germany.

“I asked myself a question – can I live in a country where Ukraine does not exist?” He says. He reluctantly admits that he now seems to be losing, but adds: “If you don’t try then you will definitely lose. At least I’ll die trying to win instead of just lying down and taking it”.

But, unlike the others, Denys says he thinks Ukraine should consider a ceasefire. It is estimated that the casualties in Ukraine are much higher than admitted – more than 400,000 killed and wounded. Gathering more people, they believe, will not solve the problem.

“I just think that many of the soldiers who are involved are lost or very tired – and for me it’s not that we want to stop the war, but we can’t go on for many years,” he says.

Dnipro, Ukraine’s third largest city, is also showing war fatigue. It is regularly monitored by Russian weapons and drones. Air raid sirens sound frequently, day and night. In silence, Ukrainians try to find out what is happening in these difficult times – including going to the cinema.

During the daytime comedy, called The Kaidash Family, there are still reminders of the war – a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen, followed by the Ukrainian national anthem.

But some of the listeners admit that they are also waiting for the release for a long time. Ludmyla tells me “unfortunately we are few. We are getting help, but it is not enough – so we have to sit down and talk.”

Kseniia says: “There is no easy answer. Many of our soldiers have been killed. They fought for something – in our territories. But I want the war to end”.

Polls also show that there is more support for negotiations.

Some of the strongest anti-war questions come from those who have been forced to flee fighting. In a house near the playground, in a building that used to house school children, a group of four elderly women are reminiscing about the homes they left behind.

Eighty-seven-year-old Valentyna says she arrived with nothing but was given shoes, clothes and food. He is said to be well taken care of. “It’s good to be a stranger, but it’s better to be at home.”

His house is currently in Russian territory. All four women want peace talks. But Mariia, 89, says she doesn’t know how the two sides will be able to “see each other in the eye after the middle of hell”.

He added: “It’s clear that no one can win a war, that’s why we need dialogue.”

If there is a dialogue, these women can make a lot of sacrifices – because Ukraine has to make room for peace.

Additional reporting by Daniel Wittenberg and Anastasiia Levchenko.