Ruined houses, shell craters and deserted streets — this is a typical scene in the Oktyabrsky district of Donetsk, the largest city of Ukraine’s pro-Russian rebel region that bears the same name.
The self-styled Donetsk and next-door Luhansk “people’s republics” broke away from central rule in 2014 after months of violent street protests in Kyiv toppled Ukraine’s Moscow-leaning president and propelled pro-Western nationalists to power.
In this calm suburb of Donetsk, many people stood aloof of politics. But then fierce clashes broke out between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists for control over the nearby Donetsk Airport.
A glistening air hub of steel …read more
Source: Voice of America
