Battling the cold in the trenches of eastern Ukraine

A Ukrainian serviceman displays their sauna built in a trench on the front line, in the Donetsk region, in preparation for winter. Photos: AFP

With “tactical socks”, Nato-standard sleeping bags and even a sauna, a unit of soldiers from Ukraine’s 5th brigade is preparing for winter in a trench on the eastern front.

“Winter in Donbas is hell. It is a steppe climate with icy nights and temperatures can go down to -30°C,” said one of the soldiers, Yury Syrotiuk.