Trapped by Artillery Fire: Russian Roulette (Dispatch 88)

After a lull in fighting between the Ukrainian military and the Russian-backed rebels of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR) in eastern Ukraine, violence escalated again in mid-January.

A ceasefire agreed in September seemed barely worth the paper it was written on. A battle continued to rage around the strategically important Donetsk airport, as the Ukrainian soldiers — dubbed “cyborgs” for their resilience — fought to keep the airport from the DNR.

They were unsuccessful. The DNR claimed the airport on January 21, and subsequently launched an offensive on Ukrainian positions along the line of control that separates the two sides. Civilian areas have come under heavy shelling, leaving dozens killed and wounded.

In this dispatch, VICE News headed back to eastern Ukraine to see the effect this new escalation in the conflict is having on the innocent civilians, trapped between opposing barrages of deadly artillery fire with nowhere to go.

Watch “Return to the MH17 Crash Site: Russian Roulette (Dispatch 87)” – http://bit.ly/1z2KN2s

Read “Ukraine Declares ‘State of Emergency’ in Donbas but Stops Short of Martial Law” – http://bit.ly/1thnYbU

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