Andrij drinks his coffee in the spring sun in the small town of Druzjkivka, about 2 miles from the front in eastern Ukraine, on leave from his usual posting.
Just hours after the meeting in Istanbul was over, Russian drones could be seen flying over the city again, and on Tuesday, the Ukrainian security service took responsibility for a bombing attack on the bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Nothing has stopped, everything is as usual, says Andrij.
“Futile talks”
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has accused Russia of dragging out the negotiations and not wanting to end the invasion.
They have more weapons, their factories are working, they have more soldiers and North Korea and China are supplying them. Why would they stop?, asks a soldier who goes by the call sign Did.
A peace that would require Ukraine to give up territories it currently controls is not on the table, says another soldier on leave who calls himself Leleka.
The local commanders will never agree to that, he says.
Leleka means that the talks between the countries, which so far have only resulted in prisoner exchanges, are futile.
It can't be done. Negotiations with them? How? How do negotiations work? We're talking about peace, but at the same time they're shooting at us.
He has long stopped following news reports on the negotiations, it doesn't matter anyway.
It doesn't affect our reality, it's a bit like a parallel universe, he says.
Wants to go home
Russia is said to have proposed a two- to three-day limited ceasefire on selected parts of the front, instead of the complete ceasefire demanded by Ukraine and its allies.
According to Did and Leleka, Russia needs a break to regroup. They urge the West to send more weapons to Ukraine. They are confident that the war can be won.
We will stop them, we know how to do it, says Did.
A bit away, under the blazing sun, stands Andrij. He misses his wife. Their marriage has only known wartime.
No matter what is required, I want to go home, he says.
