You're reading: RFE/RL: Beneath Ukraine’s battlefields, some sanctuary and sparkling wine

You wouldn’t know by Yuriy Ivanovich’s calm demeanor or the elegance he uses to describe the bubbles rising in his champagne flute that we’re directly beneath the battlefields of eastern Ukraine.

Protected by more than 80 meters of rich, black earth, neither the rumbling of armored vehicles nor the din of artillery fire can joggle his hand as he pours a rare, ruby blend of fizzy cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

Read more here