[…] an effective government blockade on separatist-held areas is only getting worse.
The goal is ostensibly to choke the rebel economy and force the separatist front to yield, but for now Kiev’s actions are fostering only resentment.
The interruption of banking services forces hundreds of thousands in rebel territories to embark on trips across the front lines to draw pensions or cash aid from friends and family.
Government suspension of banking services in November compounded economic hardship caused by the shuttering of businesses alarmed by the erratic rule of the Russian-backed separatists.
Making the trip has been complicated in recent weeks by a new …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
