‘We are ready for whatever comes’: on the Ukraine frontline

Peering through binoculars, Mykola Chekman pointed to the bridge connecting Ukraine to Russian-controlled Crimea. "It's not the first time the peninsula has been occupied," he observed. He added: "Crimea has seen a lot of war."

Chekman - a Ukrainian army photographer - was standing on the castellated tower of what was once a tourist cafe. It is now a base for Ukrainian forces, facing off against their invisible Russian counterparts across a shimmering expanse of water and duck-filled lagoons.

The abandoned building is situated in the village of Chonhar in Ukraine's southern Kherson province. A Ukrainian checkpoint with a blue and yellow flag marks the de facto border with what Moscow considers to be Russia, a ragged group of houses over the bridge.

In the east of the country, Russian-backed separatists regularly lob grenades and shoot at their Ukrainian adversaries. The Chonhar frontline, by contrast, is tranquil. A handful of civilians arrive in a white minivan and cross the last section on foot, rolling small cases.

Despite this apparent normality Kyiv is taking no chances. Soldiers stand guard in a network of trenches reinforced with wooden pallets. They peer at the enemy through letterbox-style positions, guns at the ready. For now, the only intruder is a ball of tumbleweed. A cold wind blows.

The cafe's tower, reached via a perilous staircase, serves as an observation platform. It is topped with a decorative black finial featuring a Crimea map. On a ground floor wall someone has scrawled: "Putin is a prick". Nearby, a BTR armoured personnel carrier sat hidden behind a fir tree.

"Vladimir Putin dreams of making a land corridor between Russian-occupied territories in the Donbas and Crimea. We won't let him," Ivan Arefiev - a military officer - said. He added: "We are ready for whatever happens, including an attack."