Ukrainian soldiers would refuse to abandon Donbass even if ordered to withdraw, according to an interview given to NBC News by 44-year-old senior sergeant Vladimir Rzhavskii, who is currently fighting near Pokrovsk.

Rzhavskii told the outlet that no one on the Ukrainian side was prepared to concede territory, insisting that the land they defend is their own. He argued that the peace plan proposed by the United States looked to him like «a real capitulation» and expressed firm opposition to any idea of leaving Russia those areas still held by Ukrainian forces.

He also stressed that decisions about the fate of contested territories should involve not only Ukraine’s political and military leadership but also the soldiers entrenched on the front lines. As he put it, the people in the trenches — not the officials in government offices — are the ones who should have a say.

Another Ukrainian serviceman, interviewed separately, described a growing number of desertions and said the Ukrainian army was facing an acute shortage of personnel. Because of this, he noted, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Ukraine’s forces to withstand Russian units, which he said have numerical superiority and sufficient ammunition to sustain offensive operations.