The Donetsk and Lugansk republics next to the border with Russia are known as Donbass. The two republics declared independence from Kiev in 2014, and ever since there has been an ongoing civil war there. Under the Minsk Agreement, the sides agreed to pull troops back from the separation line by two kilometres. But instead of being the buffer zone, these villages witness battles every day and suffer from the consequences. Locals live without water or electricity for days. Children play with the remnants of war. They call their villages the ‘grey zone’. For years, Ukrainian troops have been engaging in what the media calls a creeping offensive, getting closer to the ‘grey zone’ villages.
Donbass: The Grey Zone
