Ukrainian soldiers are doubtful that Russia-U. forces will be defeated in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv s army has been fighting a prolonged war with pro-Kremlin separatists. Since 2014 - the year Russia annexed Crimea - Ukrainian soldiers have been battling rebels to take back control in two regions bordering Russia.
Fears have mounted recently that Moscow, which has tens of thousands of troops on its side of the border, may launch an attack.
The 29-year-old soldier Mykhailo walks through the trenches in the town of Avdiivka, north of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, dressed in a bulletproof vest and army helmet.
Mykhailo says nothing will change, and that previous negotiations have failed to end the war that has claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Russian and U.S. diplomats are meeting in Geneva for talks on Ukraine and security issues, with President Vladimir Putin seeking assurances that NATO will not expand eastward.
Mykhailo says he has a rifle in hand and that he thinks these talks won't make things worse.
That is another matter when it comes to Putin's policy. He says it won't change. Guarantees of not joining NATO will never stop him, as he wants to return the Soviet Union in version 2.0. With tensions between Moscow and Washington, the West has urged Russia to pull back its troops.
The Kremlin denies it plans to invade and said that troop movement is part of routine deployment.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned of the serious consequences if Russia invades.
Measures under consideration include cutting off Moscow from the global banking system and cancelling Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of gaslighting the world by making demands. He vowed that the upcoming talks would focus on Moscow's aggression toward Ukraine. He says that the separatists use mortars and machine guns.
Mykhailo notes that in recent months the separatist military equipment has been moving on a much larger scale than before.
He adds that we are ready. We can hold back the enemy. Blinken said it was up to Russia whether the Geneva talks would be successful. The delegations are led by his deputy Wendy Sherman and Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Russia issued draft proposals aimed at curbing NATO expansion ahead of the Geneva talks. Moscow demands that NATO must not admit new members and seeks to prevent the United States from establishing new bases in ex-Soviet countries.
Russia accuses NATO of betraying their promise to the end of the Cold War by not expanding to the East.
After the Geneva talks, Russia will meet with all 30 members of the U.S. military alliance - the first such encounter since July 2019.
Mikhaylo says that knowing our enemy, I am 100% certain that the talks won't be in our favor.
Even if they do agree on something, agreements with Russia are never worth the paper they are written on, he adds.