'Absurd' war in Ukraine's separatist territory

DONETSK (Ukraine) • Ruslan Chebotayev was just 10 years old when pro-Russian separatists seized his hometown in eastern Ukraine, sparking fighting that he and other teenagers say has robbed them of hope and prospects.

The sounds of shelling punctuate life around the industrial city of Donetsk, where younger residents are used to tanks rumbling down their streets and a curfew bringing an eerie quiet.

"Throughout my childhood in Donetsk, I heard the war - shelling, tanks rolling around the city," Ruslan told Agence France-Presse, snow blanketing the war-scarred city. "I've wanted peace for a long time. I'm fed up with the fighting," said the 17-year-old student with auburn hair.

The prospects for peace, however, are especially tenuous now with Europe and the United States warning of a huge Russian troop build-up on the edges of separatist-held territory.

It is only the latest chapter in nearly a decade of war that has claimed 13,000 lives - including friends and relatives of many Donetsk residents.

"It's hard to talk about it," said 20-year-old student Daniil Chebotok, who is hoping to leave. "It was scary at first, but then it somehow became normal and now explosions, shootings - it's already so ordinary, familiar even."

Not far from the centre of the city - the de-facto capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic - shooting continues to claim lives.

"It's just an absurd situation. We don't even know why the war is going on," said Mr Maxim Bliznyuk, also 20, who sports a crucifix-shaped earring.

Not only are fears of escalation growing, young men are expecting to be sent to the front in the wake of a new decree by political leaders in the breakaway regions.

Separatist authorities last year introduced mandatory six-month-long military service at the age of 18.

"I want to leave here," said Mr Chebotok, who added that he wants to apply for a Russian passport and dreams of working as a doctor in Asia. "When we were still in Ukraine, we of course had prospects in life. But now, they have, concretely, changed. Unfortunately."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE