VICE News

In the Trenches with the DNR: Russian Roulette (Dispatch 97) (2x105)

: 03, 2015

On February 15, 2015, a ceasefire took effect in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russia separatists fighting for the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and forces loyal to the government in Kiev. Under the agreement, both sides would be ordered to pull back heavy weaponry from their front lines, and to respect a buffer zone between each other's territory. In the following days, however, there were still reports of shelling and sporadic fighting. With DNR troops holding a position on the outskirts of the Ukrainian-held port of Mariupol, many now fear the city may be the target of a new rebel offensive. VICE News traveled to a rebel-held front line outside the village of Shirokino, 20 miles from Mariupol, to speak with DNR troops about what may lie in store for the city, and to find out whether the ceasefire would hold.