Civilians in conflict-ridden Ukraine are taking control of their protection by digging trenches similar to the ones used during World War I, ABC News reported.
Volunteers dug the World War I-like trenches in Mariupol, an eastern port city that has been able to avoid being seized by pro-Russian separatists throughout the five-month insurgency.
But the rebels, believed to have support from Russia, have taken over the nearby town of Novoazovsk, which up till last week also avoided the fighting. Mariupol residents fear they are next.
The trenches, filled with concrete and sand bags to keep them intact, are now all that stands between Mariupol and the rebels in Novoazovsk, ABC News reported.
Both towns are located on a path that connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March.
Novoazovsk's takeover increased concerns the rebels were trying to create a direct land route between Russia and Crimea, giving Russia control over the peninsula's oil and the natural resources believed to be in the Sea of Azov.
Those fears will most likely increase if Mariupol falls too.
Almost 2,600 people have been killed since the conflict began in April, according to the United Nations. Another 340,000 people have been displaced.
On Monday, talks began between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Belarus. Separatist representatives from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics also attended, demanding the Ukrainian government recognize their "special status," USA Today reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again maintained his country is not instigating the war and said he is ready to work with the West to reach a peaceful outcome. Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO have all accused Russia of providing soldiers to fight along the rebels and sending armored vehicles across the border.
"There will be no military intervention," Lavrov said according to the newspaper. "We call for and exclusively peaceful settlement of this severe crisis, this tragedy."
