Not long after a so-called ceasefire ended in eastern Ukraine Monday night, the Ukrainian military sent a column of artillery into Sloviansk and officially began its offensive. The Russian and Ukrainian governments, along with representatives from the OSCE, called for a new effort to establish another ceasefire, setting a deadline of Saturday for the resumption of talks. For now, however, the war continues.

VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky traveled around the outskirts of the city and visited several checkpoints where soldiers were preparing for what’s to come.