A woman walks towards the only crossing right now between the rest of Ukraine and the northernmost occupied territory manned by guards on both sides who check documents in Stanytsia Luhanska Ukraine — An estimated 100,000 Russian troops are amassed at the border of Ukraine surrounding the country from three sides like a horseshoe The bulk of those troops are to the far east where life has already been turned upside down by war with Russia Tensions have been simmering there since 2014 when Russia-backed separatists moved in and declared breakaway republics people here face the prospect of being caught in the middle of what the White House is warning could be the largest invasion since World War II Our journey takes us past vast grain fields and flat stretches of land The area is known for coal mining and farming – although these days a small city that was overtaken by separatists in 2014 and they held it for three months before the Ukrainian army came in and took it back Trees reflected in a window on a train from Kyiv to Slovyansk People exit the train at a station on the way to Slovyansk A man walks through a tunnel with street art in Slovyansk Vitalii Milko (left) stands with his wife Vita and a stray dog in the central square in Slovyansk who is out with her husband watching their young daughter play in the snow and she knows how close her life was to completely changing had the separatists not been run out eight years ago I would like all other cities to be freed as well." Those "other cities" Vita is talking about lie even farther east The Kyiv government calls them "temporarily occupied territories." The territories were seized in 2014 So the people who live there are in limbo – cut off from Ukraine The central square in Slovyansk where a statue of Lenin was removed in 2015 Right: Flowers pressed against the window of a florist in Slovyansk A shop that sells food and drinks outside the train station in Slovyansk we hire a driver to take us another three hours further east through multiple police and military checkpoints This is the only crossing right now between the rest of Ukraine and the northernmost occupied territory manned by guards on both sides who check documents People cross out from the occupied territory to buy certain Ukrainian goods collect government pensions or visit family and friends A chemical factory that makes fertilizer in Eastern Ukraine on the way to Stanitsya Luhanska Top: A man walks towards the border with the northernmost separatist region in Eastern Ukraine Bottom left: People guarding the border walk across some ice Bottom right: A group heads towards the crossing with the separatist region Ukrainian flags are reflected in a puddle at the crossing to the occupied territory in Stanytsia Luhanska A Soviet star can be seen on a statue across the street from the crossing into occupied territories Just a few blocks from the crossing is the village with row after row of single-story homes and a small central park Speaking freely inside the occupied territories is dangerous He has lived here his whole life and stayed after the war Davydovych tells us that just this morning he heard shooting nearby He sighs in a way that suggests he's given up trying to keep track A home in Stanytsia Luhanska that now stands vacant like many others on the street Numerous buildings like this have clear signs of bullet and mortar holes We ask him what he'll do if more fighting comes if Russia invades and the war starts again diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff continue the threat of war has become a way of life Ievgen Afanasiev contributed to this report Representatives of the Ukrainian underground carried out a sabotage on the railway near the temporarily occupied city of Stanytsia Luhanska. The Russian forces were transporting equipment and personnel along this route, reports the partisan movement ATESH. The operation was carried out by agents of the Resistance Forces in the Luhansk region They managed to destroy a transformer cabinet on the railway near Stanytsia Luhanska "The Russian forces were using this route to transport resources for supplying their troops as well as military equipment and personnel," the underground movement reported In ATESH it was noted that the successful sabotage operation disrupted the logistics of the Russian forces particularly causing delays in the supply of equipment and spare parts "We continue to systematically strike at the transportation infrastructure that the Russian forces use for their purposes there will be more of such strikes," the movement added the partisans released footage on social media showing the execution of the sabotage operation in the temporarily Russian-occupied part of the Luhansk region Recently, Ukrainian partisans disrupted the railway logistics of the Russian forces in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region. In early April, it was reported that Ukrainian underground fighters struck the railway near the city of Kemerovo in Russia, thus slowing down the supply of ammunition to a local Russian military facility. the ATESH partisans carried out a sabotage operation on the railway in the Smolensk region which managed to halt supplies to the Russian forces in the Kursk region It was also reported that this winter, partisans carried out a railway sabotage operation in Moscow 26 June 2019 – The Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine welcomed the willingness expressed at a recent meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group to disengage from the agreed area at Stanytsia Luhanska and reiterated the Mission’s full readiness to monitor the disengagement process Additional SMM patrols have been dispatched to the area of Stanytsia Luhanska where they are observing the security and humanitarian situation and stand ready to monitor and verify the disengagement process on both sides of the contact line The Mission is also conducting remote observation with cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles “It is my strong hope that today the sides will live up to their own commitment and remove forces and hardware from Stanytsia Luhanska,” the Chief Monitor said “The OSCE SMM is doing its part in monitoring the process; now the sides must do theirs and take the necessary measures to make disengagement durable and sustainable.” located near the front line in eastern Ukraine were having breakfast when a grenade shell went straight through a wall of the school this morning terrible,” says kindergarten worker Natalia Sleserevna As Russia claims to be pulling its troops back shelling along the front line has increased dramatically Natalia stands in front of the white two-story kindergarten building on the outskirts of Stanytsia Luhanska a small settlement 12 miles north of Luhansk and by chance none of the 20 children was hurt in the incident the children were not allowed to be in the sports room,” says Natalia Natalia was standing by a window ironing when the grenade struck sometime before 9 a.m “The children cried; some screamed,” Natalia says At first they took cover inside the building: “We have a place on the first floor where there are no doors or windows … where we always hide so this is not the first time we hide there,” she says In the yard in front of the building a second shell landed by the playground The shockwave and shrapnel broke nearby windows and footballs lie on the ground covered in dust “The most important thing is that we are alive and well,” Natalia says lives in an apartment just 50 yards away from the kindergarten She says they were all running for the shelter in the basement getting more emotional with every word she speaks “We used to live a good life — it was a quiet peaceful village and then suddenly this war.” The past month or so has been calm along the front line with only occasional shelling and bursts of small arms fire a press officer with the Ukrainian forces in Stanytsia Luhanska tells us that in the middle of the morning brief today Ukrainian troops noticed shelling — all along the front line at the same time the enemy didn’t use artillery here in such a big operational area But today it’s all along our front line,” Bogdan explains When we ask whether this is the beginning of something bigger The media in the separatist-controlled areas where conventional Russian military personnel and hardware have long been based alleging that it was Ukraine that fired the shells “They say that it was our forces that fired and it is our territory and we know that we cannot fire here,” Bogdan says Embassy in Kyiv (the staff has relocated to Lviv in western Ukraine) did not mince words in laying blame for the attack “Russia’s shelling of Stanytsia Luhanska in Ukrainian government-controlled territory in Donbas hit a kindergarten The aggressor in Donbas is clear — Russia.” As we leave Stanytsia Luhanska in the evening we can hear the distant sound of artillery online outlets in the occupied territories have been spreading information that Ukraine is planning an attack on the territories These claims have been backed up by Moscow which has been talking about preventing a “genocide” in Donbas Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that civilian buildings were damaged in the attack “We call on all parties to condemn this serious breach of the Reduction Agreement,” he wrote British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss commented on the shelling of the preschool on Twitter: “Very concerned about reports today of increased Russian aggression: over 7,000 extra troops near the border with Ukraine and an attack by pro-Russian troops on a kindergarten in Ukraine Britain is urging Russia to withdraw its troops — there is still time for diplomacy and downsizing.” This dispatch is a collaboration between New Lines and Swedish newspaper Expressen Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy According to Ukrinform, the Come Back Alive Fund reported on Twitter Russian occupiers fired on the village of Stanytsia Luhanska One of the shells hit a kindergarten where children were at the time but two teachers have received blast injuries,” the report says The press service of the Joint Forces Operation reported on its Facebook page “with exceptional cynicism Russian occupation forces shelled the village of Stanytsia Luhanska in Luhansk region As a result of terrorists' use of heavy artillery two civilians have received blast injuries” the local municipal infrastructure was damaged Half of the settlement has been left without electricity The Kindrashivska-Nova locomotive depot and a locomotive were also damaged While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker With 4.4 million people in Ukraine soon to enter a fifth year of conflict the international community has an important role to play in supporting conflict resolution and bringing about lasting peace – the only durable humanitarian solution for the affected population “This crisis is happening in Europe’s backyard yet it is largely forgotten by the world,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Mueller told a European conference on the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine and the way forward “We must do better at communicating the daily violence and intensifying deprivation in eastern Ukraine affecting millions of people,” added Ms who is also Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator She noted that the human toll of the armed conflict is appalling with over 2,530 civilians killed and 9,000 injured and water and electricity facilities have been damaged due to the hostilities “Countless ceasefire agreements have failed to stick and it is this political failure to bring about a definitive end to the conflict that continues to force 4.4 million conflict-affected Ukrainians to endure daily suffering and to make impossible choices,” she warned hundreds of lives have been lost due to mines and explosive remnants eastern Ukraine is rapidly becoming “one of the most mined areas in the world,” which will stall reconstruction and development for many years to come noting that mine clearance and risk education is urgently needed in all conflict-affected areas particularly along the “contact line,” including the checkpoints With one million crossings each month across the 457-km “contact line,” thousands of people face delays and obstacles in accessing basic services humanitarians in Ukraine consolidated a comprehensive and prioritized $187 million Humanitarian Response Plan that sets out the urgent need to reach vulnerable Ukrainians with assistance and protection throughout 2018 “It is sobering to note that four years ago Ukraine had no need of a humanitarian appeal,” Ms It is clear from a 2018 assessment that needs across all sectors continue to rise particularly in non-Government controlled areas and across the “contact line,” she said urging the de facto authorities to facilitate the resumption of the activities of all humanitarian actors’ programmes and appealing to the Government of Ukraine to do all it can to ensure freedom of movement of civilians and to end the commercial ban across the contact line residents have lived in the shadow of conflict for years But now the shells are getting louder and closer through the centre of Stanytsia Luhanska on Saturday afternoon The 81-year-old did not flinch as booms of artillery sounded in the distance Her five children have all left this frontline town, some for Russia and others for safer parts of Ukraine “It’s just me and my cow now,” she said mournfully Malashenko said she missed the Soviet period and said she blamed the Ukrainian army and Kyiv’s western backers for the current escalation But she also said she was terrified of a Russian invasion and then with them their Cossacks and Chechen fighters will come Imagine what a hell it will be then,” she said residents close to the frontlines here have become used to the idea that at any time their lives could be altered by a bullet or shell They even refer to the booms as “badminton” – the sporadic exchanges of fire across the line of control the explosions have been more intense than any time in the past few years and the targets have apparently been residential areas and even schools There are approximately 2 million people living within 12 miles of the frontline and if the spark for escalation comes in east Ukraine Stanytsia Luhanska was formerly a suburb of the city of Luhansk but since the war in 2014 has been cut off from the rest of the city by a frontline On the other side is the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic – one of two Russia-backed proxy states where Moscow appears to be looking for a pretext to begin military action against Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier inspects damage caused by a shell fired by pro-Russian separatists in the village of Novoluhanske yesterday authorities called for an evacuation to Russia on Friday – supposedly in advance of a Ukrainian attack but more likely as a pretext for Russia to launch a strike said on Saturday plans had been drawn up for the evacuation of women and children on the Ukrainian side of the border too “Maybe in the coming days we will order an evacuation But if we do it too quickly it will cause panic,” he told the Observer In one of many incidents that Ukrainian officials say shows a major escalation from Russia, the Fairy Tale kindergarten in Stanytsia Luhanska was hit by fire on Thursday the Ukrainian military flew a group of journalists into the town to help dispel what it said was a false Russian narrative that the Ukrainian army has been behind the recent uptick in violence Two ageing Mi-8 helicopters took off from an aerodrome in Kramatorsk and travelled east along the line of control for an hour The juddering choppers flew low over the barren where an unseasonably warm February has melted all but a few isolated patches of winter snow a pile of rubble was still scattered on the floor incongruous alongside the cartoons and drawings plastering the walls “It’s very important for everyone to understand that it’s the Russian Federation that’s behind this We have no offensive plans … and Ukraine does not want a war,” said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereschuk who addressed journalists from inside the kindergarten on Thursday Nobody is more fearful of a new war than the locals here who despite their outward stoicism have suffered terribly during the past years “Everyone who lives in the zone near the front has problems with their nerves and almost everyone has serious health problems,” said Larisa Grytsenko who runs a humanitarian relief centre in the town of Zolote her employees were helping 72-year-old Valentyna Melnychenko whose home in the town of Vrubivka was hit on Thursday morning Melnychenko wept as she surveyed the damage where she has lived since 1974 and which is now draughty and damp after the windows were blown out “I’ve lost my husband and my son in the past four years This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media the implementation of the president’s initiative to repair the bridge will be transparent and under public control A link to the round-the-clock broadcast is available on the website of the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky announced the beginning of reconstruction of the destroyed bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska after the Ukrainian side dismantled the last fortification facility in the area of the Stanytsia Luhanska entry and exit checkpoint The reconstruction works on the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska is part of Ukraine’s international obligations to improve the humanitarian situation on the contact line a temporary bridge will operate by October 11 and the main bridge will be open by November 27 "President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the European Council Donald Tusk visited the area of the disengagement of troops No the top-ranking guests were accompanied by Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Syrsky and Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Serhiy Daineko," the report reads It notes that Tusk and Zelensky talked to representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and local residents They also familiarized themselves with humanitarian projects being implemented with EU support the head of state made a stop to honor the memory and lay flowers at a memorial to Ukrainian warriors who died in battles with Russian invaders," the JFO press center added Zelensky and Tusk were also informed about the results of the work of mine clearance groups: irrefutable evidence of Russian aggression in the form of remnants of hostile ammunition found by bomb disposal teams Zelensky also tested new positions of the Ukrainian Joint Forces at the disengagement area "The high-ranking delegation had an opportunity to make sure that the Ukrainian side is steadily complying with international treaties and clauses of the Minsk agreements," the press center said Zelensky also visited Odesa and Luhansk regions we are pleased to welcome you to the Permanent Council the United States welcomes the progress made at the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area We too encourage the sides to build on this momentum by recommitting to full disengagement at the other designated areas near Zolote and Petrivske Despite the achievements at the Stanytsia Luhanksa disengagement area Eighty-seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed or wounded in June in the conflict with Russia-led forces – the highest figure in several months We were saddened to learn that a Ukrainian military medic and her driver were killed July 1 near the line of contact Russia must do its part to end this intensifying violence The way to end the conflict is through implementation of the Minsk agreements A lasting ceasefire depends on Russia’s withdrawing heavy weapons and disarming the proxy forces it leads in eastern Ukraine The United States would welcome concrete steps from Russia and the forces it arms and fights alongside towards establishing a lasting ceasefire throughout the conflict zone I believe everyone in this room would welcome additional steps by Russia in line with Minsk including the cantonment of proscribed weapons streamlined procedures to cross the line of contact and disbandment of political and military entities not covered by Ukraine’s constitution in areas controlled by Russia-led forces on June 28 and 29 shrapnel from indirect fire damaged important water infrastructure along the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas channel which provides water to over three million people on both sides of the contact line We encourage the Trilateral Contact Group to devote special attention to developing no-fire areas around systems providing water and electricity to prevent humanitarian disasters The complex nature of the humanitarian and environmental consequences of this conflict demands a multi-faceted response a group of SMM environmental focal points participated in a training course to strengthen the mission’s preparedness to respond to environmental emergencies Given the impact of the conflict on environmental conditions in Ukraine we welcome this important initiative to enhance the Mission’s capacity to increase focused reporting on the environmental situation on the ground we welcome you to the Council for your first address The United States views your monitors’ work as a critical piece of the Minsk process We welcome your commitment to strengthen the operations The SMM operates in conditions unlike any of the organization’s other field missions We urge the Secretariat to adopt special administrative procedures for the SMM in areas to streamline recruitment and procurement Your report notes that 92 percent of access restrictions to SMM patrols over the past three months occurred in areas controlled by Russia-led forces The United States reminds Russia that the SMM’s mandate calls for access throughout Ukraine – restrictions and other forms of interference are unacceptable Your report notes that in the last three months despite the commitment by the signers of the Minsk agreements authorizing the Mission to use all technical equipment necessary for operations we welcome the SMM’s regular and thematic reporting A special or thematic report on the social and economic consequences of Russia’s obstruction of lawful commercial shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait would be very informative for this Council Russia must immediately return all 24 Ukrainian crew members and three vessels captured during the Kerch Attack We all know there is no reason for Russia to continue to hold these individuals we are deeply concerned about the health of Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Balukh Balukh was imprisoned by Russian occupation forces in Crimea for flying a Ukrainian flag On June 25 he began a hunger strike to protest Russian authorities’ false assertions that he is a Russian citizen in order to deny him access to the Ukrainian consul We are also concerned about the fates of Oleg Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko who have been unjustly imprisoned for over five years and all other Ukrainians who are languishing unjustly in prisons in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea for opposing Russian aggression against Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea The United States fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea We join our European and other partners in affirming that our Minsk-related sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine By | 4 July, 2019 | Topics: Statements, Ukraine Crisis | Tags: , We use cookies to make our website work better and improve your experience Fears Russia is trying to create pretext for attack as nursery school in Stanytsia Luhanska is hit Tensions in the east of Ukraine have risen dramatically after Russian-backed separatists launched an intense artillery barrage across the line of control with Ukrainian forces shelling a nursery school and injuring three people According to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) there were “multiple shelling incidents” on Thursday morning across the frontline in the Donbas region The attack on the city of Stanytsia Luhanska blew a hole through the wall of kindergarten number 21 The school day had just begun when a shell landed on the building in Depovska Street Video showed debris and masonry strewn over a play area “The children were eating breakfast when it hit,” Natalia Slesareva told the news agency AFP Slesareva said she was working in the laundry room at the time The explosion blew her back against the door “I could not feel the right side of my head A teacher and security guard were left with concussion The Ukrainian military said 32 shells landed on the city also injuring a serviceman and disrupting electricity supplies A second missile left a small crater near the children’s slides in the garden playground said she and her husband rushed to pick up their child after hearing the strike But they even managed to puncture those,” she said The attack was part of an apparent coordinated bombardment by pro-Russian separatists in multiple locations across the 250-kilometre long frontline The assault appeared to be continuing on Thursday evening with reports of further shelling of the city Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accused the Russian side of “provocative” behaviour at a time when the US president, Joe Biden, had warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine remained “distinctly possible” and could happen “in the next several days” The situation on the ground in the east appeared to be rapidly worsening said the Russian-backed militants had used a tank in the operation – an unusual occurrence and a breach of ceasefire agreements “These shells came from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine which are controlled by Russia,” Kuleba said Western diplomats voiced concern about the military escalation by Moscow and its local proxies about 24 hours after the Kremlin claimed it was moving some of its troops away from Ukraine’s borders The secretary general of Nato said he was “concerned that Russia is trying to stage a pretext for an armed attack against Ukraine” “Reports of alleged abnormal military activity by Ukraine in Donbas are a blatant attempt by the Russian government to fabricate pretexts for invasion,” she tweeted “This is straight out of the Kremlin playbook.” said: “I see it as a further provocation because the previous ones didn’t work We see them going after social infrastructure The idea is to provoke the Ukrainian side into a reaction.” A video taken from inside the targeted kindergarten building. pic.twitter.com/hCpOoWCkhA The OSCE logs regular firing between Moscow-armed separatists and Ukrainian soldiers In recent months this low-level conflict has been relatively calm as Russia has moved 150,000 troops to Ukraine’s borders and Ukrainian soldiers have been under instruction not to return fire Russia has accused Kyiv of trying to provoke an escalation to recapture rebel territory by force The Kremlin said on Thursday it was deeply concerned by the flare-up in violence in eastern Ukraine and hoped that the west would use its influence on Kyiv to prevent further escalation The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed reports of a planned invasion by Russia but said Moscow was watching the situation closely He said Russia had started pulling back some of its troops that had completed drills in areas adjacent to Ukraine after inaccurate predictions by Washington that an invasion might begin on Wednesday said some Russian equipment and ammunition would remain in his country once joint military exercises with Russia and Stoltenberg have all expressed deep scepticism that Russia is pulling its forces out The Kremlin said time was needed for troops to return to their bases saying it took weeks for them to deploy for military drills the Russian Duma asked Putin to recognise the two separatist political entities in the Donbas – the Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics – as independent states The Kremlin has not decided how to respond Formal recognition would dramatically raise tensions and kill off the Minsk agreement Russia has repeatedly accused Zelenskiy’s pro-western government of failing to implement the accords the Luhansk people’s republic claimed it had come under repeated attack grenade launchers and a machine gun in four separate incidents on Thursday “Armed forces of Ukraine have crudely violated the ceasefire regime should be withdrawn,” the separatists said in a statement Ukraine’s military denied the claim and said “Russian occupation troops” had cynically targeted civilians “As a result of the use of heavy artillery weapons by terrorists Two civilians received shell shock,” it said The Guardian has seen video apparently showing shelling by separatists against the frontline city of Hirske Heavy artillery shelling upon Ukrainian lines reported this morning in many hotspots of Donbas. An artillery shell targeted a kindergarten in Ukrainian-controlled Stanytsya Luhanska. Two civilians concussed, half of the city cut off electricity. pic.twitter.com/6gxfF5SyxU On Wednesday Nato said Russian military capability was only increasing in numbers and strength despite claims by Moscow it was partially withdrawing its forces Stoltenberg said Nato needed to be “prepared for the worst” while holding out hope that the signalling from Putin in recent days was evidence of a sincere desire to find a diplomatic way through the crisis "Larisa Galadza got acquainted with the peculiarities of functioning of the entry-exit checkpoint the procedure of carrying out control and inspection operations the level of passenger traffic and the conditions of crossing the demarcation line by citizens," the press service of the Eastern Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports The Ambassador was most interested in the security component The Ambassador of Canada also visited the reconstructed bridge near the entry-exit checkpoint “Stanytsia Luhanska” which had been a serious and difficult obstacle on the way to government-controlled Ukraine until October 2019 Based on information from the Monitoring Teams as of 19:30 17 February 2022 This article was published more than 3 years ago Damage from a reported shelling of a kindergarten in the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska The children of the Fairy Tale Kindergarten had just finished having breakfast when the sounds of war came again to this frontline town in Eastern Ukraine Eight years into the war between the Ukrainian army and the Russian-backed separatists that control large swaths of this coal-producing region the 24 children and their teachers knew what to do They gathered in a central hallway that is the closest thing to a shelter in their kindergarten less than five kilometres from the frontline scattering soccer balls and skipping ropes landed amid the climbing equipment in the playground outside Impact marks suggest the ordnance was fired from somewhere south of Stanytsia Luhanska – almost certainly from the territory controlled by the militia of the unrecognized Luhansk People’s Republic The swift action by the staff at Fairy Tale Kindergarten likely saved lives It may also have – for another day at least – prevented the low-level conflict in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine from erupting into a larger war between Russia and Ukraine says is 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine Ukrainian troops have been under strict orders in recent months not to retaliate to attacks from across the separatist lines out of fears that a small incident could be used to justify a full-scale Russian invasion But a mass-casualty incident at a kindergarten might have been very difficult for Ukrainian forces to avoid responding to Natalia Slesareva stands among debris after the reported shelling.ANTON SKYBA/The Globe and Mail who works as cleaning staff at the kindergarten said a “nightmare” was avoided because the children were not in the sports hall when it was hit but this is the first time they hit our building,” said the 54-year-old She said the impact had been close enough that she still had a headache and hearing loss almost 12 hours later … The gym was hit only a few minutes before children were supposed to enter it It could have turned into an awful tragedy.” even though the kids were very calm when it was happening The kids who understood that war was happening were in shock.” commander of the Ukrainian military in Donbas told reporters that there were 49 incidents of separatist fire along the frontline on Thursday Withdrawal of some Russian troops from Ukraine comes amid mixed messages from Putin Ukraine exposes its vulnerabilities with day of unity, show of strength That makes it one of the worst days of fighting the region has seen so far this year Pavliuk said a vocational school in the village of Vrubivka was also struck eight civilians and two Ukrainian soldiers were injured on Thursday “Everything is done to provoke the armed forces of Ukraine into returning fire so they can blame us for genocide against the people of Donbas,” Lt.-Gen referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that Ukrainian forces were engaged in a “genocide” against residents of this predominantly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine The genocide claim is not supported by neutral observers The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine told The Globe and Mail in a statement Thursday that while it has documented violations of international law “by all sides of the conflict” over the past eight years it “has not seen wide-scale violations that threaten the lives and safety of individuals from ethnic minority groups.” Some 14,000 people have been killed since pro-Russian fighters seized control of part of the Donbas region in 2014 shortly after Russian troops seized and annexed Crimea The Kremlin’s aggressive moves followed a pro-Western revolution in Kyiv Putin has always regarded as an illegal coup Pavliuk said his troops delivered only a “limited response” to Thursday’s shellings but were ready to defend the country in the event of a larger Russian attack The Russian-backed “occupiers” in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions had a force of about 30,000 adding that he did not detect any change in the posture of the separatist militia in recent days The Ukrainian military arranged the visit to Stanytsia Luhanska for The Globe and other international media Ukrainian soldiers outside a kindergarten damaged by shelling in the town of Stanytsia Luhanska Ukraine.LYNSEY ADDARIO/The New York Times News Service President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that there was a “very high” risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next “several days.” The British Ministry of Defence published a map outlining what it called “President Putin’s Possible Axis of Invasion,” with nine red arrows representing Russian forces attacking Ukraine from the east Western officials have repeatedly warned that they believe Mr Putin is looking for an excuse to launch a military operation that his forces have already planned and prepared said on Thursday that it was continuing to withdraw some forces from around Ukraine Kremlin-controlled media said it was Ukraine that was escalating its attacks in the Donbas region forcing the separatist forces to return fire Russia’s parliament passed a resolution calling on Mr Putin to recognize the independence of the separatist Luhansk and Donetsk “people’s republics” that were established by Russian-backed fighters in 2018 Doing so could allow the “separatist” leaders – who have acknowledged in the past that they take their orders from Moscow – to formally call on Russia to intervene in their war against the Ukrainian state on a Thursday visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Putin recognized the Luhansk and Donetsk republics it “would represent a further attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity signal an end to the Minsk process and demonstrate a Russian decision to choose a path of confrontation over dialogue.” the sounds of artillery were audible again as night fell in Stanytsia Luhanska night maintenance worker at Kindergarten No Grigoryevna said she had no choice but to work “You can’t escape your fate,” she said as the thuds of artillery grew louder and Ukrainian soldiers shouted for media to evacuate one of the shells knocked out the town’s electricity Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Mark MacKinnon has been covering international affairs and Canada’s role in the world since the Sept 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent war in Afghanistan One of Canada’s most decorated foreign correspondents, Mark has won the National Newspaper Award seven times, and was nominated for an eighth award in 2022 for his ongoing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Mark has been covering Russia and Ukraine since 2002 when he was first sent abroad to serve as The Globe and Mail’s Moscow bureau chief He covered the Orange Revolution in 2004 and Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity and witnessed firsthand Russia’s subsequent annexation of Crimea as well as the start of the eight-year proxy war in Donbas Mark has also been internationally recognized for his coverage of the war in Syria, the rise of the so-called Islamic State and the refugee crisis that followed. His 2016 story The Graffiti Kids, which followed the lives of the teenagers who inadvertently started the Syrian war was named Story of the Year by the London-based Foreign Press Association He has also won accolades for his investigations into the garment industry in Asia and for his reporting from the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan Mark is the author of The New Cold War: Revolutions which was published in 2007 by Random House an e-book of his train travels through the Middle Kingdom along with photographer John Lehmann He now divides his time between London and Kyiv Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. 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For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions Kyiv/Luhansk (ICRC) – The partial reconstruction of the wooden footbridge of Stanytsia Luhanska was successfully completed on 9 December making the crossing more secure and easier according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) The ICRC arranged for and supervised the replacement of the broken wooden ramps which was carried out by a company and agreed upon by all concerned parties “Thousands of people have to walk over the bridge daily; it is particularly hard for the elderly While this is not the full reconstruction we have proposed and we continue to work on it will make the crossing less dangerous,” says Valter Gros head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Luhansk “Having a safer bridge is an urgent humanitarian need and we will keep to engage with all parties to find a permanent and mutually acceptable solution for it.” The ICRC has been in discussions for the last 18 months to replace the broken section of the bridge and continues to stand ready to act as a neutral intermediary to find a mutually accepted solution The dilapidated pedestrian bridge of Stanytsia Luhanska is the only crossing point between government and non-government-controlled areas in the Luhansk region Over 8,000 people are crossing the bridge on a daily basis; queuing may take hours forcing people to endure freezing temperatures or summer heat maintains shelters on both sides of the bridge where people may sit down A recently opened first aid station on the government-controlled side is treating up to 20 patients per day impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and to provide them with assistance Головне для МКЧХ – допомогти та захистити людей, що постраждали від наслідків міжнародного збройного конфлікту між Російською Федерацією та Україною – насамперед, найбільш вразливих – по обидва боки від ліній фронту. Докладніше… Now only 37 remain in the few houses that are still standing Opytne is a frontline village. It lies in the government-controlled territory opposite the destroyed Donetsk Airport in eastern Ukraine. Before the conflict Without transportation and isolated during the winter period have no choice but to live in a constant state of hardship The villagers have been living without electricity for seven years the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) helped resupply electricity and has previously helped rebuild some of the homes Oleksandr shows how his damaged home has deteriorated due to harsh weather conditions and lack of repair Ukraine is known as the “oldest” humanitarian crisis in the world as about three out of ten people in need here are elderly His home was severely damaged during the hostilities He cannot repair his house due to the costly delivery of materials ongoing conflict and absence of builders in the village The civilian death toll resulting from Ukraine conflict has topped 3,000, with over 7,000 people injured since 2014. Over 50,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed Eastern Ukraine is divided by a 427-kilometre-long front line with seven crossing points Eastern Ukraine is divided by a 427-kilometre-long “contact line” separating government-controlled areas from non-government-controlled areas movement across the line has been significantly restricted The number of crossings has decreased by over 90 per cent from over 1.2 million per month before the Covid-19 pandemic to fewer than 100,000 per month today Natalia is volunteering as a paralegal with NRC She helps displaced and conflict-affected people in the city of Krasnohorivka to access their pensions and other social benefits “For more than two years I have not been able to cross the contact line to see my daughter and grandchild in the non-government-controlled area,” she says “Many people who had jobs at the other side have lost their jobs because they cannot cross,” she adds.  Iryna’s home in Krasnohorivka was destroyed by shelling in 2016 in Krasnohorivka was destroyed by shelling in 2016 She is now renting a place while applying for compensation and hopes to be able to buy a new home for herself and her daughter “Luckily I was at my granddaughter’s birthday party and was not at home when the building was hit She lives close to the conflict line and explains that she can hear shelling in the distance almost every day.  “People are scared by the increased tension and it makes us scared,” Iryna says that has been destroyed during the conflict but I pray for peace and for all those children here who are already deprived of their rights and the elderly who are already struggling to survive,” she continues.  young people will be able to stay and get job opportunities and settle down with their families here.” Up to two million people living in a 20-kilometre zone on both sides of the contact line in eastern Ukraine would be under increased threat of violence and displacement if the conflict escalates Here are 10 things you should know about the crisis in Ukraine. Civilians living along the contact line, which divides the government-controlled areas from the non-government-controlled areas, are considered the most vulnerable. Here, access to essential services and livelihoods is very limited. Communities often have little or no access to stable electricity and water supply. NRC supports communities affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Due to the volatile situation, NRC Ukraine maintains the capacity to react to evolving humanitarian needs rapidly. At the same time, we work to reduce the risk of long-term displacement, advocate for systemic changes in policies and legislation, and propose approaches that offer lasting solutions for displaced people and their host communities.  In 2021, NRC Ukraine supported 8,357 individuals to restore their food security and economic security. Viacheslav’s wife talking to NRC’s Svitlana Hlazunova. Photo: Christian Jepsen/NRC Viacheslav, 52, lives in the frontline village of Troitske. He and his wife used to work in a local enterprise that was destroyed due to the conflict. “The war, in general, cut all our hands and feet, one might say. They bombed us here, and we had everything here. And so, we stayed. Now we are slowly trying to survive somehow and start a new life,” says Viacheslav. In 2021, Viacheslav received cash assistance from NRC for agricultural material to help him recover his livelihood. Many people in eastern Ukraine rely on agriculture. Yet, they struggle to recover their livelihoods because of critical damage to the infrastructure. The destroyed roads and poor transportation system prevent people from accessing markets. In 2021, NRC assisted 13,984 individuals with its direct legal aid and capacity-building activities. Since 2020, NRC has been delivering free legal aid services in communities along the contact line, via volunteers called “paralegals”. These paralegals provide essential information and counselling for people living in remote and isolated communities. Svitlana Shavlinska is one of a team of volunteer paralegals in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Photo: Andrii Turiiev/NRC Svitlana Shavlinska is one of the volunteer paralegals. “I started providing paralegal services, including Covid-19 awareness-raising sessions, after completing an NRC training course on legal and protection issues. Some topics are very close to me, as a displaced person with similar pressing issues,” she says. Yuliia Tanasova, NRC's paralegal in Troitske. Photo: Christian Jepsen/NRC Yuliia Tanasova is another paralegal. She lives in the village of Troitske. This is an area with a high number of older people and displaced people. Volunteering offers local people, like Yuliia, a chance to share their existing expertise and skills to benefit their communities. In 2021, NRC Ukraine supported 121,064 people with water and sanitation assistance. NRC's Secretary General Jan Egeland at Stanytsia Luhanska crossingpoint. Photo: Tiril Skarstein/NRC Delivery of pumps to Avdiivka’s water supply company. Photo: Violetta Shemet/NRC Damaged water infrastructure, lack of funding and an inability to make repairs due to the ongoing hostilities mean that water supply networks tend to malfunction. As a result, people living in conflict-affected areas often lack access to drinking and household water. The water supply for Avdiivka and the surrounding area depends entirely on the Donetsk Filtering Station, located in the so-called “grey zone”. Various reports regularly flag the station’s malfunctioning which causes the city’s water supply to be cut off. In 2021, Avdiivka’s residents spent a total of 51 days without water. “We provided the most critical equipment, including water pumps and booster pumps as well as consumables, needed to normalise the water supply in the community,” says Goran Zuber, NRC’s Area Manager. These efforts will allow the city to reserve water in silo in the event of a total water cut. This will ensure access to water for about 10,000 people living in multi-apartment buildings, as well as three schools, a municipal hospital, and a fire station. [email protected] after Vilne Radio editors recorded the comments from Albert Zinchenko head of the Stanytsia Luhanska Military-Civilian Administration it became known that he had sided with the occupiers He continued to give comments to the media even after his betrayal told an IMI representative about this when being asked how the communication with representatives of local and regional authorities and law enforcement officers has changed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 Albert before it turned out that he (had sided with the occupiers On March 2, 2022, in a comment to Vilne Radio, Albert Zinchenko claimed that Stanytsia Luhanska had been surrendered not by him when they left in the evening together with the border guards Go to them with all the questions," claimed the now ex-head of the Stanytsia Luhanska MCA As the Luhansk Regional Prosecutor's Office reported in March and two of his deputies deliberately surrendered the settlement to the occupiers and now continue their illegal activities providing the occupiers with material and technical aid They are suspected of treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) The sanction of this article provides from 12 to 15 years in prison with or without confiscation of property [email protected] (050) 447-70-63 Ідентифікатор медіа: R40-01250 Reprinting and disseminating our information is allowed but under strictly condition of reference to the source Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Kaja Kallas and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Estonia to Ukraine Kaimo Kuusk visited the area of the Joint Forces Operation they got acquainted with the operation and infrastructure of the Stanytsia Luhanska entry-exit checkpoint which is to be modernized," the report reads Kallas stressed that Estonia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the context of Russia's ongoing armed aggression "We are all partners and friends of Ukraine we have worked to take concrete steps and defend Ukraine Russia must know the price and consequences of its aggression Today I am here to say: 'We stand by you.' […] The security of Ukraine is the security of Europe I am amazed at the level at which you are ready to protect your citizens and take care of them," she said Kallas said that Estonia supports several projects aimed at improving the well-being of schoolchildren and ensuring equal opportunities in the field of education in Donetsk and Luhansk regions These include the provision of two villages with access to the Internet and the provision of humanitarian assistance to low-income families The foreign delegation also inspected the infrastructure of the Shchastia entry-exit checkpoint and got acquainted with the work and capabilities of the administrative service center Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Operation Major General Eduard Moskaliov informed the Estonian delegation about the security situation in the JFO area On behalf of the Commander of the Joint Forces Operation he presented the Estonian prime minister with a booklet with JFO symbols Kallas is on a three-day working visit to Ukraine