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Russia is holding a presidential vote in the occupied regions of Ukraine to try to legitimize its rule there, expose dissenters and present a veneer of democracy.

A potential expansion of the nation’s military draft to replenish the exhausted, battered army has become an emotional, politically charged issue.

Amid crumbling U.S. support for Ukraine and Donald Trump’s rising candidacy, European nations and NATO are making plans to take on Russia by themselves.

Ukrainians are weary, short of ammunition and outnumbered, and their prospects look bleak. “We can stop them for now, but who knows,” one soldier said. “Tomorrow or the next day, maybe we can’t stop them.”