Ukrainian personnel ferried ERR's Anton Aleksejev, reporting for "Aktuaalne kaamera," to their positions near Toretsk, in an armored vehicle. However, even this mode of transport was taking a risk in entering the town itself, since the sky was thick with enemy drones.

One Ukrainian soldier told ERR the Russian drones are "Constantly in flight. Mavics, Zalas, Lancets, FPV drones; there are so many of them."

The enemy is currently maintaining superiority in other areas than simply drones, ERR reported.

Another Ukrainian soldier told ERR: "They have plenty of manpower and ammunition."

"They can shell us all day long. We aren't able to return fire at that level of intensity all day. In order to conserve ammunition, we try to hit them as accurately as we can," he went on.

The chats with artillerymen from the 100th Brigade gets abruptly — the men have been assigned a new target.

"You could say I lift my team's morale. 'Men, let's go to work,' and the guys understand immediately, they're loading, taking. The shell is already in the breech, meaning all that's left is to give the order 'Fire!' It's great," the soldier, who recently turned 23, said.

At the same time, he advised both the ERR crew and the local population to vacate the area.

"The aggressor has its goal and is advancing," the soldier said.

"The occupiers want to take all of Donetsk oblast, and they plan to do the same with Luhansk oblast. They are on the offensive constantly. They are making slow but steady progress. Bit by bit, they achieve their objectives. And we're here trying to stop them," he added.

And do local residents feel about their defenders?

"Sometimes we talk to them, but we try to avoid too much contact. Those who support Ukraine and value their wellbeing have already left," "June," another of the defenders, said

And those who have stayed?

"They tend to just think, 'Whatever will be, will be," "June" noted wryly.

Most civilians remaining in the front line town of Kostyantynivka just a few kilometers from Toretsk say they don't want to leave, despite constant Russian missile and bomb strikes.

Most tended to avoid speaking to the media, though one, Julia, was an exception.

She told ERR: "In our town, people believe that the areas where journalists come are the ones that get hit the most."

As for why they haven't left, Julia said it's because there is nowhere to go in any case.

"Most people simply don't have the money to leave everything behind, to go somewhere else, and start life all over again from scratch," she said.

The original "Aktuaalne kaamera" segment is here.

Toretsk is a key transport hub in the region, along with Povrovsk, which is also holding out against invading Russian forces.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!