A boom, like distant thunder, rolled over the wheat fields due west of Slovyansk - a Ukrainian city now being targeted daily by Russian rockets and artillery.
Perched on his seat in a combine harvester, Vladimir Bukhantsev, 47, could see clouds of smoke from missiles hitting an industrial area, then another, thinner plume, from Russian positions on the frontline, perhaps 15km (nine miles) due north.
"It's noisy here. But life goes on. We had a spot of rain earlier, so we've been waiting for the wheat to dry. My son is serving in the army near here. I'm hoping our lads are going to start counter-attacking soon and push the Russians back," he said, on a brief break from work.
Suddenly there was a shrieking roar as two Ukrainian fighter jets flew low, perhaps 25m (80ft) above the field, directly overhead.
Within seconds the jets were over Russian positions, and Bukhantsev watched the bright tail of a Russian rocket soaring up towards one aircraft, narrowly missing it. Both Sukhoi jets then released decoy flares, turned sharply and headed back south, again passing directly overhead with another deafening roar.
"They fly like that almost every day. It gets lively here. The pilots do their job. We do ours. Everyone is busy. But their work is harder," he said.
The woods and narrow country lanes around Slovyansk are busy with Ukrainian troops, digging trenches and setting up artillery positions. There are reports that new Western weapons, including Himars rocket systems, are being used locally at night, to fire on ammunition stores and positions deep inside Russian-held territory.
But Ukraine's frontline farmers remain focused on their own battle - to bring in the harvest, despite the constant danger posed by the conflict, and despite plummeting grain prices caused by Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
Most of the farmers have already sent their families to safety, further west. In Slovyansk, buses organised by local volunteers and the city administration continue to evacuate dozens of civilians daily.
"It's very dangerous, of course. But we're continuing. Our major concern is that the price we receive for our products is lower than usual. Last year, we sold wheat for about $300 (£250) a tonne. Now it's $100. And the cost of fuel has risen threefold.
"Then you have to add in fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, taxes, wages. So this year, we're likely to make no profits. And at any moment, we can be bombarded and everything will burn," he said, flicking through videos on his mobile phone that showed one of his fields on fire after a recent missile strike.
His neighbour lost up to 2,000 hectares of corn to another fire.