BBCUkraine is losing the battle on territory. Many of its soldiers are tired and exhausted after three years of fighting. The question is: Can the country bear another year of war?
Their forces are still resisting the Russian advance in the east. But they are almost surrounded near the town of Korakhov, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks.
The Black Pack, a mortar unit, is trying to prevent being encircled around Kurakhov. The Russians are approaching from three sides.
We meet the team at a safe house and get a break from the fighting. They are not your ordinary soldiers. They include a vegan chef, a mechanic, a web developer, and an artist. A group of friends with non-conformist views. Some call themselves anarchists. They all volunteered to fight.
Sirte, their 31-year-old commander, joined the army shortly after the all-out Russian invasion. He told me at first that he thought the war would last three years. He says he is now mentally preparing himself for another 10 years of fighting.
They all know that Donald Trump wants to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian president have indicated they are ready to hold talks as well, but the idea of reaching a workable agreement seems difficult to imagine.
So far, it's just talk about talks.
Sirte does not ignore Trump's goal.
“He is a very ambitious person and I think he will try to do it,” he says. But he is concerned about the outcome of any negotiations.
“We are realistic, and we realize that there will be no justice for Ukraine – many will have to accept the fact that their homes were destroyed by missiles and missiles, and that their loved ones were killed, and this will be difficult.”
When I asked him whether he preferred to negotiate or continue fighting, Sirte answered categorically: “Keep fighting.”
It is a view reflected by most of the unit. Serhiy, the vegetarian chef, believes the negotiations will temporarily freeze the war – “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 keep fighting. Being killed, he says, “is just an occupational hazard.”
Artist David believes Trump is alarmingly unpredictable. “It could be very good or very bad for Ukraine,” he says.
The unit spends a week on introduction and break the following. But even when they rest, they continue to train because, they say, it motivates them.
In a frozen field, they practice mortar firing exercises. Dennis, who voluntarily left his safe home in Germany, recently joined the team.
“I asked myself this question: Can I live in a world where there is no Ukraine?” He says. He reluctantly admits that he now looks like he is losing, but adds: “If you don't try, you will definitely lose. At least I will die trying to win instead of just lying down and winning.”
But, unlike others, Denis says he believes Ukraine should at least consider a ceasefire. He believes that the human losses in Ukraine are higher than those officially recognized – more than 400 thousand dead and wounded. He believes that mobilizing more residents will not solve the problem.
“I think a lot of motivated soldiers are either lost or they're too tired – so for me we don't want a ceasefire, but we can't continue for many more years,” he says.
Dnipro, Ukraine's third-largest city, reflects this war weariness as well. It is regularly targeted by Russian missiles and drones. Sirens sound intermittently, day and night. When Ukrainians are silent, they are trying to find some sense of normalcy in these abnormal times – including by going to the theater.
In a humorous theatrical performance called “The Kaidash Family” in the afternoon, there were still memories of the war – a minute’s silence for the fallen, followed by the national anthem of Ukraine.
But some in the audience admit they're also hoping for a longer-term release. “Unfortunately we are outnumbered,” Lyudmila told me. “We are getting some help, but it is not enough – that is why we have to sit down and negotiate.”
“There is no easy answer,” Ksenia says. “A lot of our soldiers were killed. They fought for something, for our lands. But I want the war to end.”
Opinion polls also indicate increasing support for the negotiations.
Some of the strongest calls for a ceasefire come from those forced to flee the fighting. In a shelter near the theatre, in a former student residence, a group of four elderly women reminisce about the homes they left behind.
Eighty-seven-year-old Valentina says they arrived with nothing, but were provided with shoes, clothes and food. She says they were treated well. “It is good to be a guest, but it is better to be at home.”
Her home is now located in Russian-occupied territory. The four women want negotiations for peace. But Maria (89 years old) says she does not know how either party will be able to “look into each other's eyes after the tremendous hell they have committed.”
She adds: “It is already clear that no one will win militarily, and that is why we need negotiations.”
If there are negotiations, these women may end up sacrificing the most – just as Ukraine may have to sacrifice land for peace.
Additional reporting by Daniel Wittenberg and Anastasia Levchenko.
