With war at its doorstep, Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk digs in
On a dusty, pockmarked highway on the southeastern border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, some 20 scruffy fighters from Ukrainian volunteer battalions stand guard at a newly erected block post, scrutinizing vehicles coming from the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. License plates beginning with “AN” (Donetsk) and “VV” (Luhansk) are what they are on the lookout for.
The position is not only a checkpoint, but also it marks what has become the new, de facto border that divides the separatists’ enclave – which Kyiv has granted special status – from the eastern limits of Ukrainian-controlled territory.
“We have conflicts with the central authorities and ministries. They live in a virtual world. They don’t understand the real situation,” said Svyatoslav Oliynyk, a Dnipropetrovsk Oblast deputy governor responsible for military preparation.
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