DONETSK, Ukraine — Two hundred Ukrainian paratroopers have been encamped for a week in eastern Ukraine amid fears that Russia could launch an military incursion over the border.
Trenches were being dug next to the camp Friday as soldiers kept watch in damp weather.
The soldiers were sent from a base west of Andriivki to boost border defenses in the region, which is home to millions of pro-Russian Ukrainians.
Families of the paratroopers — and a handful of local supporters of the Ukrainian cause — visited the camp on Thursday, delivering crock pots of apparently home-made food.
One young paratrooper was brought food by his mother and father who had driven some 80 miles.
"You OK? You are doing alright?" the young man's mother asked. "Yes, you shouldn't have come all this way," the young man replied. None of the family would be interviewed by NBC News.