Residents of Ukrainian settlements on the conflict line report no widespread sense of panic amidst the Russian military buildup and local escalation of hostilities.
Recent weeks have seen huge numbers of Russian troops close to the border and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
On April 22, Moscow announced it would begin withdrawing its soldiers, but numerous forces and military equipment remains in place.
Sergiy Shapkin, the head of the frontline settlement of Pavlopil near the port city of Mariupol, said that villagers had frequently heard heavy weapons fire in recent weeks.
Ukrainian units are stationed in Pavlopil, as well as one of the four frontline checkpoints in the Donetsk region. But Shapkin said it had been quiet in the village itself since a local ceasefire was agreed in the summer of 2017.