A Ukrainian soldier listens to his radio in the early evening at a front-line position near Starohnativka, the site of a major battle on August 10. Or was it? Photo by Jack Crosbie
"Too many children remain in these villages. We don't understand why their parents don't take them away," Odesseet, a father in his 40s with a quick smile, but weary eyes, told VICE News. "We desperately need more medical transports," added Larissa Khorbachanka, 23. "Two were destroyed by mines on Monday, leaving us just a few vehicles."'Our troops didn't take any new land. Perhaps the officials at the ministry see better than we do.'
A member of the Hospitaliers battalion sleeps on an empty gurney parked on the grass outside the battalion's HQ. Photo by Jack Crosbie
The construction contractors have a living tent where they eat and rest during the day, but the canvas is often shredded by shrapnel in the night, forcing them to sleep in the network of narrow trenches around the base. Photo by Jack Crosbie
Two days later, VICE News was in rebel-held territory, close to the devastated villages of Novolaspa and Bila Kam'yanka, northwest of Starohnativka. The war's kaleidoscope of colors had twisted to replace Ukraine's blue-and-yellow standard with a multitude of DNR and Novorossiya flags, as soldiers proudly displayed Russian insignia on their uniforms. From the breakaway enclave, government-held Ukraine stretched into the distance.At the foot of a gently sloping valley, a group of rebels stood around smoking in a small outpost by a meandering waterway. Shells and mortar rounds exploded nearby but the men barely registered the blasts. Spetz, their commander, rejected the DNR's official claims that "everything was calm" on Monday."Here we are defending our land from Ukraine — everyday it's a big fight," said the commander, who oversees a unit of around 40 men who often engage in special reconnaissance missions.'Nobody knows what's real but people believe the rumors and it makes them afraid'
Yurii shows photos of medical operations on casualties of Monday's battle. Photo by Jack Crosbie
Anti-Russian graffiti covers an old Soviet metal sculpture. Photo by Jack Crosbie