RESIDENTS within miles of the Ukrainian border are preparing to fight to the death to defend their homes from Vladimir Putin's forces.
With the threat of war with Russia looming large, thousands of Ukrainians are scrambling to do whatever they can to defend their towns and villages.
Those with any combat experience enlist in the Territorial Defence – a Kyiv-led people's army – while doctors and nurses prepare themselves to be shipped to the frontline, should war break out.
It comes as grim US intelligence reports say 200,000 troops and 500 warplanes are withing striking distance for an invasion at anytime, with 'Terminator' tanks the latest addition to Russia's arsenal.
And another 30,000 pro-Russian separatists were facing Ukrainian defenders in the separatist Donbas enclave.
Meanwhile, satellite images show field hospitals, mystery bridges and a build-up of anti-attack choppers north of Ukraine's borders.
Whatever happens, the message from Ukrainians is clear: we don't want war but we are ready for one.
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'HE KILLS OUR PEOPLE'
Memories of Soviet occupation run deep in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine.
The ruthless regime ruled the city for four decades after capturing it from the Nazis in 1944 and imposing a brutal regime of oppression and violence against its citizens.
Now one local, who wishes not to be identified, told The Sun Online she's prepared to fight.
"We did not stock up on food. But we have weapons," she told us.
"Last Sunday, the media alerted the entire country, and many feared that the situation was really aggravated.
"If you want peace, prepare for war.
"Local authorities have announced that our city is ready for various developments."
She said residents have to wait in long queues just to get food, which she says people are hiding "just in case".
And those who fought Russian-backed rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 are returning east again.
"No one knows what will really happen and what Russia's plans are for Ukraine," she added.
But it's her rage for Putin that keeps her focused.
She says: "This is not a man. He kills our people. Ukrainians hate everything about Russia because of him and his policies.
"He wants to rewrite the history of Russia. He needs Kyiv and the restoration of the former Soviet Union.
"He is not satisfied with the fact that we want to [go to] Europe."
READY TO FIGHT
Hennadiy Ivanuschenko has called Sumy city in eastern Ukraine home all his life.
Born there, he describes the city – which is less than 10 miles from the Russian border – as his "small fatherland".
It's no wonder then that the 57-year-old historian and archivist is willing to lose his life to defend it.
"The people in Sumy have lived with this threat for the last eight years," the dad of one said.
"We are waiting every day for provocations from the border."
He claims villagers see Russian tanks amassing along the border from "time to time" but says locals aren't frightened.
Those with combat experience are volunteering for the army while nurses and doctors prepare themselves "because they know they are going to be told to go and treat casualties, whether civilian or military".
Those who can't do either, Hennadiy says, will help distribute vital humanitarian aid to citizens who find themselves trapped under heavy Russian bombardment.
"If you want peace, prepare for war," he sternly tells us.
"On the surface, people are calm but underneath they are preparing.
"If there is another invasion or an incursion, those military units will fight. How long they’ll fight for – no one knows."
And the lack of supplies like arms, bullet-proof vests and helmets doesn't phase him.
People like me strike fear in the Russian population. We make them scared.
"I am ready to fight," he tells us while showing off his army backpack which is packed full of equipment and what appears to be a battle axe.
And so is his son, who's currently living in Poland and fought in 2014. He's promised to return if a single Russian boot crosses the border.
Hennadiy's only concern is the impact of his country's "vital points" being destroyed by Russian artillery and air power.
He said the destruction of Ukraine's nuclear station, chemical factories and pipelines would not only wreak havoc for civilians but "also for the environment".
'WE STRIKE FEAR IN RUSSIA'
"The weapons are ready," former militia commander Volodymyr Parasiuk told us as he prepared to return to the eastern border from Lviv, western Ukraine.
"From Monday I will go the front."
Volodymyr knows a thing or two about fighting the Russians.
The ex-Dnipro commander turned Ukrainian MP, whose impassioned speech during the Euromaiden protests saw former Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych flee the country, was captured by them during the Battle of Llovaisk in August 2014, tortured, and saw his best friend killed right in front of him.
He managed to escape and now teaches soldier and civilians how avoid being caught, and what to do if they are.
"We as Ukrainians are experienced and we know how to fight and how to defend our land," he says.
"We don’t want to go forward and attack anybody, but we will defend our country. Everyone needs to understand that to us, this isn’t frightening."
He adds: "If they [Russian troops] come one centimetre on Ukrainian territory, I’ll be the first person to run to protect our land.
"People like me strike fear in the Russian population. We make them scared."
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