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Simon Ostrovsky Returns To Eastern Ukraine

S3 · E9 · 23 May 2014 · 11 min

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Earlier this month, a number of pro-Russia checkpoints around the Donetsk region were taken by Ukrainian forces, in an attempt to encircle the city of Sloviansk, a stronghold for the pro-Russia insurgents. Here, VICE News reporter Simon Ostrovsky embeds at one of the checkpoints with the Ukrainian National Guard, a volunteer militia made up of people who were protesting at the Kiev Maidan just a few short, but eventful, months ago. Simon spent the night in the dark basement of a police station with some of the men, as heavy fire and fighting rumbled above them. Ukraine's presidential elections are scheduled for Sunday, but with this volatile situation in the east of the country, it's starting to look a lot more like a war.