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Fighting Russia's proxies in Ukraine: A war in Europe that's here to stay

For six years, Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting each other in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Dozens of ceasefires have been agreed, only to be violated soon afterwards. This time, however, the armistice – at over a month now – seems to have held. The Straits Times’ global affairs correspondent
Markus Ziener reports from the front line.

Ukrainian soldiers from the 503rd battalion walking outside a dugout right behind the zero line, in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, late last month. PHOTO: MARKUS ZIENER

Markus Ziener

Global Affairs Correspondent

Updated

Published

Sep 13, 2020, 05:00 AM

DONBASS, UKRAINE - Olexi Hodzenko did not go to war for the sake of adventure.

It is not because he would otherwise not know what to do with his life. He signed up with the Ukrainian army because of unfinished business, which took his father, Dmytro.

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