A camouflaged tank pokes out from under a tree in the rebel camp, pointed in the direction of the Ukrainian army about three kilometres away. A Russian flag has been hand-drawn on the side.
"We took this tank and five armoured troop transport vehicles from the Ukrainian army. The tank was damaged but our mechanics fixed it in three days," says one rebel, 44-year-old Mikhail.
A few artillery shells fly overhead but fall far from their mark. A few destroyed trees in the camp suggest they are sometimes more accurate. The rebels fire back a cannon shot.
"Luckily the weather is bad or they would have used air power too," says Denis, the 40-year-old head of this ragtag group of pro-Russian fighters.
They number around 50, perched on a hillside beside Siversk, a town of 3,000 west of the separatist stronghold city of Slavyansk.
The troops start swearing at the mention of President Petro Porochenko and the week-long ceasefire he called Friday in Kiev's 10-week campaign against the rebels in Ukraine's east.
Fighting has continued into the weekend, and they have little faith it will stop soon. They have dug trenches into the hillside in anticipation and the men are busy fortifying the line.
"We're waiting now for a new attack," says Denis.
"We're doing a good job of holding out. The Ukrainians have already attacked our positions once... We pushed them back. A lot of them were killed."
The Ukrainian army claims to have killed scores of rebels in recent clashes around Siversk, which sits on a strategic supply line for arms and munitions to Slavyansk. They moved in here after a bloody campaign to retake the neighbouring town of Krasnyi Lyman on June 5.
- 'Fascist' regime -
On the rebel frontline, the middle-aged soldiers show the younger recruits how to use a heavy machinegun.
"Some of our fighters are very young," says Denis. He gestures towards one young man, who he says had done no military service at all before joining up for the insurgency when it broke out in early March.
They know they are outnumbered and insist they do not get any military assistance from Russia.
"We only get humanitarian aid and medicine from Russia," says Andriy, 31, as he prepares to load a heavy machinegun.
"Russia can't help us militarily or send in its troops. NATO is just waiting for that so it can send its soldiers into Ukraine," he adds.
Despite the odds against them, the rebels seem motivated to fight on because they feel it is a battle against what they consider a "fascist" regime in Kiev.
"Both of my grandfathers were killed in World War II fighting the Nazis," says Andriy.
"I will continue their fight."
A camouflaged tank pokes out from under a tree in the rebel camp, pointed in the direction of the Ukrainian army about three kilometres away. A Russian flag has been hand-drawn on the side.
“We took this tank and five armoured troop transport vehicles from the Ukrainian army. The tank was damaged but our mechanics fixed it in three days,” says one rebel, 44-year-old Mikhail.
A few artillery shells fly overhead but fall far from their mark. A few destroyed trees in the camp suggest they are sometimes more accurate. The rebels fire back a cannon shot.
“Luckily the weather is bad or they would have used air power too,” says Denis, the 40-year-old head of this ragtag group of pro-Russian fighters.
They number around 50, perched on a hillside beside Siversk, a town of 3,000 west of the separatist stronghold city of Slavyansk.
The troops start swearing at the mention of President Petro Porochenko and the week-long ceasefire he called Friday in Kiev’s 10-week campaign against the rebels in Ukraine’s east.
Fighting has continued into the weekend, and they have little faith it will stop soon. They have dug trenches into the hillside in anticipation and the men are busy fortifying the line.
“We’re waiting now for a new attack,” says Denis.
“We’re doing a good job of holding out. The Ukrainians have already attacked our positions once… We pushed them back. A lot of them were killed.”
The Ukrainian army claims to have killed scores of rebels in recent clashes around Siversk, which sits on a strategic supply line for arms and munitions to Slavyansk. They moved in here after a bloody campaign to retake the neighbouring town of Krasnyi Lyman on June 5.
– ‘Fascist’ regime –
On the rebel frontline, the middle-aged soldiers show the younger recruits how to use a heavy machinegun.
“Some of our fighters are very young,” says Denis. He gestures towards one young man, who he says had done no military service at all before joining up for the insurgency when it broke out in early March.
They know they are outnumbered and insist they do not get any military assistance from Russia.
“We only get humanitarian aid and medicine from Russia,” says Andriy, 31, as he prepares to load a heavy machinegun.
“Russia can’t help us militarily or send in its troops. NATO is just waiting for that so it can send its soldiers into Ukraine,” he adds.
Despite the odds against them, the rebels seem motivated to fight on because they feel it is a battle against what they consider a “fascist” regime in Kiev.
“Both of my grandfathers were killed in World War II fighting the Nazis,” says Andriy.
“I will continue their fight.”
