Amid the ruins and deserted buildings, Ukrainian personnel are now defending their positions.

ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) crew visited one such village, in the Donetsk oblast.

The same crew had filmed the same personnel, from the 24th Brigade, near Bakhmut last year, during the most intense battles there.

Even then, weaponry such as the mortars troops were using were not of the state-of-the-art variety, meaning there may still be a need for newer equipment.

On Ukrainian soldier, Ivan, said the lager mortars they had were: "Considering they're range and accuracy, I would say among the best."

"War is war, nothing changes. Everywhere is tough during wartime. It was hard in Bakhmut, then in Chasiv Yar, and it's hard here now. Nowhere is easy street. The enemy is formidable, they have plenty of human resources, and they can afford the cannon fodder to advance," Ukrainian soldier Vassyl explained.

Compared with the other front-line sections, the situation in the village ERR visited, which cannot be named for security reasons, seemed relatively calm. This may be the reason why the Ukrainian troops deployed there are issued with a limited amount of ammunition.

Another soldier ERR spoke to, Mykola, said: "The best situation in terms of ammo came during our first counteroffensive in the Kherson region," which was back in the second half of 2022.

"We were engaged near the village of Bezumiannoye, and fired 50-60 rounds a day, per mortar, and we had two of them. We had quite a bit of ammo then," Mykola went on.

"In Bakhmut and Soledar, the rounds situation was also more or less okay. But after that... I think much depends on the situation on the front line. Where the situation is more difficult, more ammunition is issued," he added.

"We try to save ammunition and fire accurately. Two or three rounds to hit one target," Ivan said.

Their current target was ranged about 5 kilometers away from their positions.

"The first mortar is for range calibration. These are new mortars, and we still need to rehearse with them. Then comes two or three more shots, and we hit the target," another fighter, Yegor, said.

"At present we are hitting near to the target, so we will recce a bit more and if there are no Orlan drones or other enemy reconnaissance drones flying, we can hit the target more precisely," he went on.

ERR's Anton Aleksejev and Kristjan Svirgsden have been providing regular reportages from the front since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

 Russia illegally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022, shortly after it invaded Ukraine, meaning taking control of the entire oblast is one of the Kremlin's main war goals.

After Bakhmut fell in May last year, the Russian capture of the Donetsk city of Avdiivka in February this year opened a door for the Kremlin's troops to push westward.