‘War is madness’ Donbas braced for onslaught

After five grimy days on the frontline, Slava Volody-myrovich stripped to his underpants and plunged into the gleaming Torets River. A seagull flapped over the water and willow trees. “Life goes on, even in wartime,” he said. Wringing out his khaki T-shirt, he added: “In battle, there is nowhere to wash.”

Volodymyrovich ran up the muddy embankment and showed off his armoured transporter. On the roof was a joystick-controlled machine gun. Shrapnel had dented the vehicle’s right side. There was a crack in a porthole-like window.

“A Russian rocket