Residents, soldiers in Eastern Ukraine village watch and wait to see what comes next

Residents, soldiers in Eastern Ukraine village watch and wait to see what comes next
In the Ukrainian village of Zolote, Olga Berezhna cradles one of the rabbits she raises, feeds her chickens and gets an eager greeting from her shaggy dog when she walks into her yard. But this is not placid rural life; it's a grinding wait to see if there will be war.At 59, Berezhna is the youngest of the 16 people left in the village. The others are mostly in their 80s; all of the younger people long ago fled the village that's near territory occupied by Russia-backed rebels. Olga Berezhna, 59, feeds hens on Friday in her backyard in Zolote, a village near the front line in Ukraine's Luhansk region. (Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press) Those who remain in the area look aged far beyond their years, including soldiers on duty in snowy trenches and sandbag-lined positions. Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels began fighting in 2014, in a war that has killed more than 14,000 people. A pair of Ukrainian servicemen rest on Friday in a shelter on the front line in Eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region. Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels began fighting in 2014, in a war that has killed more than 14,000 people. (Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press) Although the fighting has diminished significantly in recent years, fears are strong that it could resume and become even bloodier since Russia began amassing troops near Ukraine's border. Russia says it has no intention of invading, but many in the West believe that an offensive is imminent. A Ukrainian soldier ducks in a trench on the front line in the Luhansk region on Friday. Fighting has diminished significantly in recent years, but fears are strong that it could resume as Russian troops amass along the border with Ukraine. (Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press) The next clue about what happens next is likely to come when Russian President Vladimir Putin decides how to respond to the rejection by the United States and NATO of Moscow's demand that Ukraine be permanently denied membership in the military alliance. In the meantime, Berezhna and the soldiers wait. A Ukrainian serviceman lies in bed on Friday looking at a mobile phone at a front line position in the Luhansk region in Eastern Ukraine. (Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press)