Ukraine’s defenders anxiously dig in for a looming Russian assault

BATHED IN afternoon sun and the scent of lilac, the hamlet near Kostiantynivka, a small town in Ukraine’s Donbas region, could be a picture of bucolic peace. But the sounds of birds and lawnmowers are interrupted by the constant boom of artillery less than 10km away. The few remaining villagers go about their lives, paying little attention to the pickup truck parked outside a small brick cottage. At first glance the cottage seems little different from the village’s other houses, with their little vegetable plots round the back.