ERR's Anton Aleksejev and Tarmo Aarma took the temperature of moods in frontline towns in eastern Ukraine, and asked what soldiers think about the prospects both of further mobilization and of peace.

As to why Russia still seems to have the upper hand at the moment even as its gains have mostly been fairly modest for many months now, Ukrainian soldier Tai said this was: "Because we don't have those men who are currently hiding," referring to draft dodgers."

"We don't have enough manpower to defend the entire front line," Tai went on.

As to peace, another soldier, call-sign Stradivari, was not overly optimistic. "Talks are ongoing, decisions are supposed to be made any moment now. But so far nothing has been decided. Of course we would like this war, which nobody needs, to finally end so that we could go home and live like before," he said.

"At the moment, I don't see any steps toward peace. The main obstacle to achieving peace is Russia, which does not want peace, because the situation is favorable for them," Tai added.

Russian forces are currently advancing fastest in Zaporizhzhia oblast, in the southeast. Ukrainian soldiers train before heading to their positions, but no one knows when they will be able to return.

"They say you're going for one week, but you prepare for two. The situation is very volatile. There may not even be a chance that you'll be rotated out," said one instructor, call-sign River.

Another soldier, Mandarin, said conditions are tough everywhere. Some areas have stable front lines, but places like this are chaotic, with winding fronts where our positions are scattered and enemy forces lie in between.

At the same time, civilians are leaving frontline areas. According to Igor, a volunteer with the Proliska humanitarian center, he cannot evacuate all those who want to leave.

Igor told the team Kostyantynivka can no longer be entered. Those still there are offered the chance to walk to Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka, where they can be picked up. All roads are cut off and everything is monitored by drones.

On one hand, all municipal services are provided so people don't want to leave. On the other, the military requires communications, water, and electricity, which cannot be cut off, Mayor Vadym Liakh of Sloviansk, Donetsk oblast, told ERR.

In Sloviansk, just 20 kilometers from the front, people are not only leaving but also coming back.

"This is our land, our homeland. Our parents and ancestors are buried here. That's why people come back, if there is somewhere to return to. Many have nowhere to return, because their homes have either been burned or destroyed," said one, Serhii.

On the way back, in Lviv, the ERR crew see a monument to Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera (1909-1959). Russian forces had evidently tried to take it down, using a Shahed drone. However the outcome almost speaks of the entire character of the war, now nearly in its fifth year: Instead of the target, the Russian drone hit a children's playground.

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