The Donetsk and Lugansk regions of eastern Ukraine declared themselves independent in 2014 after protests in the capital Kiev. Since then, there has been a simmering war with the Ukrainian government.
Ramaekers is a few hundred meters away from the front line. “If you go a few hundred meters further here, you will bump into the trenches of the Ukrainian army. A hundred meters further on, the pro-Russian separatists are dug in. It is here that if it came to a confrontation, the first clashes would take place,” he says in VTM NIEUWS.
In the village itself it is quiet, because many inhabitants have already left because of the war. “You see more Ukrainian soldiers in the village than civilians. There are still a few dozen people who have stayed here. For them, the political joust is a far-from-their-bed show,” said Ramaekers. What are the few residents really concerned about? Whether they become the first victims when Ukraine and Russia clash.