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Ukraine: The forgotten war

Despite the Minsk ceasefire agreement, conflict continues to affect everyday life in eastern Ukraine.

Levit, a 50-year-old Ukrainian soldier, part of the 92nd Battalion, smokes a cigarette in the lookout post, located in Shakta Butovka, Avdiivka, just 200 metres from the separatists. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Levit, a 50-year-old Ukrainian soldier, part of the 92nd Battalion, smokes a cigarette in the lookout post, located in Shakta Butovka, Avdiivka, just 200 metres from the separatists. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
By 
Erik Messori
7 Apr 2019

Donbass, Ukraine – The tension between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, which declared independence in 2014 with military support from Moscow, shows no sign of abating.

Despite the Minsk ceasefire agreement, conflict continues to affect everyday life; the hiss of bullets flying overhead and the crack of far-off sniper fire are familiar sounds. The regular Ukrainian army patrols the trenches and fights on the front line because pro-Russian snipers are positioned nearby.

Along the 400 kilometres of the Donbass “contact line” the fighting continues, while thousands of civilians are trapped in the villages nearby. They still live in what remains of their homes. In this no-man’s-land, where internal fragmentation and international isolation have caused this wearying conflict to be forgotten, people continue to die. And civilians live every day as the last.

Natasha, 40 years-old, looks for some conserves in the bunker of her house located in Zaitseve, just a few hundred metres from the front line. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Natasha, 40 years-old, looks for some conserves in the bunker of her house located in Zaitseve, just a few hundred metres from the front line. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
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A Ukrainian Army soldier from the 92nd Battalion moves to defend his position among the remains of Shakta Butovka coal mine in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, after some shots fired by separatists. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian Army soldier from the 92nd Battalion moves to defend his position among the remains of Shakta Butovka coal mine in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, after some shots fired by separatists. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian soldier, part of the 92nd Battalion, gets her fingernails manicured in the ladies' room at the military base in Shakta Butovka, Avdiivka. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian soldier, part of the 92nd Battalion, gets her fingernails manicured in the ladies' room at the military base in Shakta Butovka, Avdiivka. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Houses in a small hamlet near Shirokino, on the front line in Ukrainian territory, dubbed the ATO or Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Houses in a small hamlet near Shirokino, on the front line in Ukrainian territory, dubbed the ATO or Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Under its 'decommunisation' laws, the Ukrainian government decided to destroy statues of Lenin and other Soviet leaders on the streets and squares of Ukraine. In Kramatorsk, people dumped a big Lenin statue in a car wrecking yard, near the local dog kennel. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Under its 'decommunisation' laws, the Ukrainian government decided to destroy statues of Lenin and other Soviet leaders on the streets and squares of Ukraine. In Kramatorsk, people dumped a big Lenin statue in a car wrecking yard, near the local dog kennel. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A shelled house after heavy firefights with artillery and big machine guns on the front line in south Ukraine, between Donetsk and Mariupol. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A shelled house after heavy firefights with artillery and big machine guns on the front line in south Ukraine, between Donetsk and Mariupol. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
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A member of the Ukrainian militia cleans his weapon before returning to the front line near Sopina village. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A member of the Ukrainian militia cleans his weapon before returning to the front line near Sopina village. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Roman Kuz, a 37-year-old Ukrainian soldier who came home to spend Christmas with his family in Mariupol. He is enjoying the final hours with his six-year-old daughter, Lisa, before returning to the front line. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Roman Kuz, a 37-year-old Ukrainian soldier who came home to spend Christmas with his family in Mariupol. He is enjoying the final hours with his six-year-old daughter, Lisa, before returning to the front line. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian militia sniper wearing typical camouflage in front of a military base near Sopina village. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian militia sniper wearing typical camouflage in front of a military base near Sopina village. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A patient in the gym of 'Donbas interregional centre for vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities' in Kramatorsk. Before the start of hostilities, there were 300,000 persons with disabilities in the region, the largest number in the country, because there were a lot of mines. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A patient in the gym of 'Donbas interregional centre for vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities' in Kramatorsk. Before the start of hostilities, there were 300,000 persons with disabilities in the region, the largest number in the country, because there were a lot of mines. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Natalia Remenuk in her house in a small hamlet near Slavyansk. The Remenuk family lost their son Andreij in the Donetsk airport battle. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Natalia Remenuk in her house in a small hamlet near Slavyansk. The Remenuk family lost their son Andreij in the Donetsk airport battle. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Vladj Vladislav, 48, nicknamed Eliminator, a Cossack who joined the Ukrainian militia during the war. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Vladj Vladislav, 48, nicknamed Eliminator, a Cossack who joined the Ukrainian militia during the war. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Family photos scattered on the floor of a shelled house in Shirokino, in Ukrainian territory. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Family photos scattered on the floor of a shelled house in Shirokino, in Ukrainian territory. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Inside a shelled house after heavy firefights with artillery and heavy machine guns in the village of Shirokino, in Ukrainian territory. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
Inside a shelled house after heavy firefights with artillery and heavy machine guns in the village of Shirokino, in Ukrainian territory. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian soldier in front of a destroyed school in Chernenko, Mariupol, after a heavy firefight. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
A Ukrainian soldier in front of a destroyed school in Chernenko, Mariupol, after a heavy firefight. [Erik Messori/CAPTA/Al Jazeera]
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