Ukrainian servicemen are seen at a position on the front line with Russia-backed separatists near the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city of Lugansk, on February 23, 2022. AFP
MYKOLAIV OBLAST, Ukraine 鈥� On the front line south of the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, a 40-year-old combat medic nicknamed 鈥淒oc鈥� is preparing to mark the six month anniversary of Russia鈥檚 invasion in a trench.
鈥淵ou need to be prepared for the fact that this could last a long time,鈥� said Doc, whose owlish eyebrows poke out from under his camouflage helmet.
鈥淭here are lots of tears, lots of blood. You cry in your heart,鈥� said the medic 鈥� a dental technician in civilian life.
鈥淭he history of generations is being destroyed.鈥�
In a subterranean bunker complex, surrounded by rusted tank traps and thronging with stray cats and dogs, his comrades spoon down piping hot bowls of hearty soup.
At the head of the table sits a man with an arm tattoo reading 鈥渘ever give up鈥� in cursive script.
鈥淪ix months of war is not only a great grief for the country, it is also a small grief for each person personally,鈥� said 41-year-old soldier Mykola, sitting to his left.
The battalion鈥檚 deputy commander Artem, 30, said: 鈥淲e鈥檝e informed our soldiers that the conflict could drag on for years.鈥�
Russia launched its assault on February 24, attempting to seize the Ukrainian capital in a lightning offensive.
Kyiv鈥檚 forces put up stiff resistance, forcing a Russian retreat before the war shifted to the eastern Donbas region.
In recent weeks the focus has moved to southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces say they are preparing a counter-offensive.
Asked during a visit to Odessa about hopes for the future, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres closed his eyes, slowed his words, and spoke of a 鈥渧ery difficult situation, where the prospects for peace are not obvious鈥�.
A third front
In Mykolaiv, the war now seems like nothing new.
Wartime billboards have been sodden in the winter, torn by the blusters of spring, and bleached in the savage summer heat.
Checkpoint sandbags have split their seams and sprouted weeds.
In the opening weeks of the war a Russian missile punched a hole in the regional government HQ, killing 37.
The gaping hole is now one of many scars in the port hub鈥檚 skyline as the city remains under incessant shelling.
The Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University was struck twice last week.
The front entrance was blown apart, ceiling panels torn down, and windows shattered into mosaic pieces of glass.
The facade鈥檚 collapse revealed classrooms within.
鈥淭hey attack schools, hospitals, the port and the city鈥檚 infrastructure,鈥� said rector Leonid Klymenko, inside a gutted study hall.
鈥淚t is clear that they want to completely destroy Ukraine鈥檚 education (system), destroy the Ukrainian spirit, destroy everything Ukrainian.鈥�
Path for peace?
As the war approaches its seventh month, there are some scant signs of progress.
The UN and Turkey have brokered a landmark grain deal which is seeing Russia relax a blockade on Ukraine鈥檚 sourthern Black Sea ports, allowing grain shipments to sail and ease a global food price crisis.
On Friday, Guterres toured a port in the city of Odessa to hail the fresh pact.
But the visit was overshadowed by swirling concerns around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, elsewhere in Ukraine鈥檚 south, occupied by Russian troops and under fire by rockets.
鈥淚t will not be easy to find a path for peace in the short term,鈥� Guterres told AFP.
鈥淏ut we must persist because peace is the most important good in the world.鈥�
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