Rebels in near-empty Donbas village wary of war

Описание: (14 Jan 2022) Rebels in a near-deserted village in the Donbas region of Ukraine were apprehensive Friday of any possible conflict sparking from the current situation between Ukraine and Russia.
"I don't know what to think. It (military actions) can last several years. I hope everything will end peacefully, without a war," one of the rebels told The Associated Press.
The village of Yasnoye stands just 1.5 kilometers (approx 1 mile) from the frontline, with the first line of defence being the rebel Donbas armed forces situated on the outskirts of the village.
The actual village is practically abandoned.  
  
Current talks are being held amid a significant Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that the West fears might be a prelude to an invasion.
  
Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, has denied having plans to attack its neighbour but warned the West that NATO's expansion to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations is a "red line" that mustn't be crossed.
  
Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscow's demand for security guarantees precluding NATO's expansion, but Russia and the West agreed to leave the door open to possible further talks on arms control and confidence-building measures intended to reduce the potential for hostilities.
  
The negotiations took place as an estimated 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and other heavy weapons are massed near Ukraine's eastern border.
The US and its allies urged Russia to deescalate by pulling troops back to their permanent bases, but Moscow has rebuffed the demand, saying it's free to deploy forces on its territory wherever it deems necessary.
  
Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula after the ouster of Ukraine's Moscow-friendly leader and in 2014 also threw its weight behind a rebel insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
More than 14,000 people have been killed in nearly eight years of fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces.

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