Donetsk

Youth squad in Donetsk

Soviet-style youth squads are making a comeback in eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russian teenagers in eastern Ukraine spend their weekends practicing for war and recruiting peers to their separatist cause.

Soviet-style youth squads are making a comeback in eastern Ukraine
A woman cries as she waits for humanitarian aid in the battered town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.

War rages on in Ukraine despite talk of peace

War rages on in Ukraine despite talk of peace
Amid the war in the eastern part of Ukraine, the Donetsk Opera Theatre has kept its doors open.  The cast and crew want "the show to go on."

Curtain still rises for opera in a battle-scarred Ukrainian city

Curtain still rises for opera in a battle-scarred Ukrainian city
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the air traffic control tower of the Sergey Prokofiev International Airport damaged by shelling during fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine.

Oh, Donetsk airport, I knew you when

Oh, Donetsk airport, I knew you when
A woman walks near a memorial to those who died protesting against President Yanukovych, during a commemoration ceremony for them in Kiev Friday, as Ukrainians marked the first anniversary of protests which led to the revolution.

Ukrainians remember the first anniversary of the start of their revolution

Ukrainians remember the first anniversary of the start of their revolution
Burnt-out vehicles in an area that was recently shelled in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. The ceasefire has been marred by shelling and shooting.

Kiev reaches out to eastern Ukraine, but rebels there are skeptical of the offer

The parliament in Kiev has approved an autonomy deal for Ukraine's pro-Russian east, accompanied by a limited amnesty for rebels there. But in Donetsk, shelling continues despite a ceasefire. And rebels say Kiev is just too late in making concessions.

Kiev reaches out to eastern Ukraine, but rebels there are skeptical of the offer
A car drives past the remains of a spent ammunition on the suburbs of Donetsk, Tuesday. Intense fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine killed dozens of civilians, soldiers and rebels, as Kiev pressed on with an offensi

A Ukrainian military offensive blocks access to Malaysia Airlines crash site

Ukrainian government forces are on the attack close to where Malaysia Airlines flight 17 came down almost two weeks ago. They're trying to surround the key rebel city of Donetsk, but they may prevent efforts to retrieve the remaining bodies and wreckage in the process.

A Ukrainian military offensive blocks access to Malaysia Airlines crash site
A Ukrainian soldier stands near a destroyed military vehicle of pro-Russian separatists just outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk, July 7, 2014. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Ukraine's military is making a comeback against pro-Russian separatists in the east

Ukrainian forces scored major tactical victories this weekend against pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine's military appears to be gaining the upper hand against the separatists, according to a BBC reporter, who suspects the end result of the conflict will be a more nationalist and anti-Russian Ukraine.

Ukraine's military is making a comeback against pro-Russian separatists in the east
Ukraine

Ukrainians will head to the polls this weekend, but will those in the east bother to vote?

With thousands of separatist groups vying for power in eastern Ukraine, many people in the region are not planning to participate in Ukraine's national elections this weekend. And that could hurt the legitimacy of the results.

Ukrainians will head to the polls this weekend, but will those in the east bother to vote?
Activists of the Svoboda (Freedom) Ukrainian nationalist party hold torches as they take part in a rally to mark the 105th year since the birth of Stepan Bandera, one of the founders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), in Kiev. The portra

There's powerful history in the slurs that Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists are slinging at each other

Neighbors in eastern Ukraine are splitting between those who support Ukraine's government and separatists who want to join with Russia. And if you listen carefully to the insults they are hurling back and forth, you can hear the echoes of history.

There's powerful history in the slurs that Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists are slinging at each other
Donetsk

In eastern Ukraine, protesters are unsure of how far they can go — but they're not giving up

Masked men control government buildings in at least 11 eastern Ukrainian cities. They refuse to leave, despite an agreement between Ukraine and Russia that they would.

In eastern Ukraine, protesters are unsure of how far they can go — but they're not giving up
 People surround a man injured during pro-Russian protests near a Ukrainian military base in Mariupol.

Deaths in eastern Ukraine as pro-Russian mob attempts to storm the National Guard base

Ukraine says three people died Wednesday night in the eastern city of Mariupol. The Ukrainians say a pro-Russian mob tried to storm a National Guard base. The violence capped a humiliating day for the Ukrainian military.

Deaths in eastern Ukraine as pro-Russian mob attempts to storm the National Guard base

Tensions are high in eastern Ukraine as pro-Russian gunmen remain defiant

No one says they want war in Ukraine. But just look on the ground, in the country's east especially, where tensions keep rising. Ukrainian troops have been deployed in the east to recapture areas seized by pro-Russia separatists. But in one town, they were blocked by civilians -- and even appeared to lose some of their armored vehicles to the other side. And in the regional capital, Donetsk, pro-Russia gunmen took over the mayor's office.

Tensions are high in eastern Ukraine as pro-Russian gunmen remain defiant
Donetsk

Donetsk could be the confrontation that pushes Ukraine into war with Russia

The industrial town is now a flashpoint in the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, and that surprises an American professor who lived there in the 1990s.

Donetsk could be the confrontation that pushes Ukraine into war with Russia
A pro-Russian armed man stands guard on a street in Slavyansk, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Professional-looking troops with specialized Russian weapons but no insignia are spreading across eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine loses control of its key eastern region

Pro-Russian militants appear to be consolidating their control over towns and cities across the Ukrainian province of Donetsk. Threats of Ukrainian military action failed to materialize. Ukraine says Russia is behind the unrest, and says Moscow has sent in troops without insignia, just as they did in Crimea last month.

Ukraine loses control of its key eastern region