Bloody fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists and Russian regulars has continued for three years in Ukraine’s east. Meanwhile, an equally fierce battle is being waged for the hearts and minds of civilians on the Ukrainian side, many of whose loyalties hover between Kyiv and Moscow.
The town of Lysychansk in Luhansk province recently commemorated the third anniversary of the Ukrainian army driving out Russia-backed separatists. But while the festivities rallied a passionately pro-Ukrainian section of the town’s 100,000 residents, they also revealed many who were less than exuberant to be under Ukrainian control.
