THEATER OF WAR
[1] On April 12th 2014 Igor Girkin, a former Russian military officer also known as “Strelkov” (“Shooter”), sneaked across the border into Ukraine’s Donbas
region with a few dozen men and took control of the small town of Sloviansk, igniting Europe’s bloodiest war since the 1990s. To create the impression of
strength, Mr Girkin, an aficionado of historical battlefield re-enactments, masqueraded as a member of Russia’s special forces, and had his men drive two
armoured personnel carriers around every night to simulate a large build-up. In fact, his army never exceeded 600 men, mainly Cossacks and war-hungry
opportunists like himself.
[2] Having just lost Crimea and lacking a functioning government or military command after the Maidan revolution, Ukraine was stunned. As Russia
massed its forces on the border with Ukraine, most observers (and participants such as Mr Girkin) expected a swift invasion followed by annexation. Instead,
the Kremlin created an ersatz
[falsificada] civil war, absurdly portraying the Kiev government as a “fascist” regime and the separatists as freedom fighters.
As the Ukrainian army moved ∈ to try to retake Donbas, Mr Girkin and his fighters took up positions ∈a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Sloviansk,
using its patients as human shields.
[3] Today, the ruined psychiatric hospital, resembling a scene out of the battle of Stalingrad, is a symbol of the madness of an essentially theatrical conflict
that has cost 10,000 lives and displaced more than 1.7 million people. Yet officially, Russia and Ukraine are not at war. They maintain diplomatic relations
and trade with each other. Ukraine has euphemistically designated the conflict zone an area of “anti-terrorist operations.” Most of the people caught up ∈
the war do not care who started it, or what they call it.
[4] “I am against everyone,” says Lyudmila Prikhodko, who lives ∈a restored building among the hospital’s ruins. (The names of civilians ∈ the conflict
zone have been changed.) An engineer, Ms Prikhodko was forced to flee Donetsk after refusing to support the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic
(DNR). She feels equally alienated from Russia and Ukraine. “DNR treats people like me as enemies. Ukraine sees us as potential separatists.”
[5] On paper, there is no border between the two parts of Ukraine. In practice, there are several frontier control points, manned by border guards and
customs officials and crossed by those who live ∈ the separatist territories but must work, receive pensions or handle bureaucratic problems on the
Ukrainian side. Andrei Borisov, a smuggler who carries food, cigarettes and pesticides from Ukrainian territory across the line of control, says everyone is
∈ on the business: customs officers, local officials and separatists on the other side.
Adapted from The Economist , May 24th 2017.
According to the information ∈ the article, when Ukrainian troops attempted to regain control of the Donbas region,
