DOCSLIB.ORG

DONBAS: Territory of Existence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
DONBAS: Territory of Existence DONBAS: Territory of eXistence ASSESSMENT OF ARMED CONFLICT INFLUENCE TO THE DONETSK AND LUHANSK REGION’S STATE OF TECHNOGENIC AND ECOLOGIC SAFETY IN UKRAINE Ukrainian Research Institute of Engineering Ecology ASSESSMENT OF ARMED CONFLICT INFLUENCE TO THE DONETSK AND LUHANSK REGION’S STATE OF TECHNOGENIC AND ECOLOGIC SAFETY IN UKRAINE The authors: Chernenko Ruslan Pliushchakova Lina Aleksieieva Viktoriia Nefodova Nadiia Voloshyna Nataliia The editor: Pliushchakova Lina Translation: Afanasienko Anna Design and layout: Nefodova Nadiia The Ukrainian version of the link - iEco.in.ua © All the rights are reserved. All the information inside could be used only if Ukrainian Research Institute of Engineering Ecology is mentioned © Designed by Harryarts/Freepik CONTENT 1. Preamble................................................... 5 2. Introduction.............................................. 6 3. TOP-100 Facilities..................................... 10 4. TOP-10 Facilities........................................ 20 5. Resume...................................................... 28 6. Luhansk Region TOP-10........................... 30 7. Donetsk Region TOP-10............................ 50 Annex 1............................................................ 70 Annex 2............................................................ 74 DONBAS: Territory of eXistence -4- Ukrainian Research Institute of Engineering Ecology The summary PREAMBLE analysis of the most important works has been issued as a The environmental problems and priorities of component part of the report «Assessment the eastern Ukraine of environmental damage and priorities for environment in conditions of the armed conflict restoration on the east of Ukraine» by the OSCE Project The aim of this report is to access the influence of the armed Coordinator in Ukraine. conflict to the state of environmental and industrial safety of the It has displayed relative Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine within 2014 – 2018 years as ambivalence of the well as to forecast the abovementioned state in prospect in accordance problem highlighted with the most probable scenarios. as well as variety of assessment subjects The main tasks of this investigation are as follows: and approaches being — identification of the most possible catastrophes of technogenic origin used. and places of their occurrence in the eastern Ukraine in conditions of armed conflict in order to maintain readiness for such disasters and However the major possibility to respond appropriately); focus of such report - determination of negative influence degree on the state of technogenic was placed on the and environmental safety of eastern regions of Ukraine (Donetsk and present environmental Luhansk regions) for its subsequent restoration at the social level, as state being changed well as at the regional, interregional, national and international levels. under condition of the armed conflict. Within this work, the methods aimed to make a comprehensive analysis of the interrelated environmental and industrial components of the region safety are used. The region’s urbanization, industrialization and militarization factors are taken into account during preparation of this work. Such analysis is conducted through the assessment of the separate hazardous infrastructure facilities, their branch and technological connections and complexes with the specification of the state of environmental and industrial components of the region’s safety in peace time (retrospectively) as well as during the armed conflict (present and prospective in accordance with the most probable scenarios: cessation and escalation). -5- DONBAS: Territory of eXistence INTRODUCTION The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, taking place in one of the most industrialized and urbanized regions of Europe, led to significant increase of interrelated technogenic and environmental threats to the population, in particular due to the violation of operating conditions of numerous dangerous plants: Potentially Hazardous Facilities (PHF) and Facilities of Increased Danger (FID). Before the beginning of this conflict, almost a quarter of industrial potential of Ukraine was concentrated on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Up to 80% of such facilities belong to the most environmentally hazardous production facilities, which have the most negative influence on the environment, causing an overall, substantial irreversible impact. The complex of mining, processing, chemical, power and other facilities with a significant number of industrial and urban agglomerations inherited from the former Soviet Union, led to appearance of significant risks of technogenic and ecological disasters with the major transboundary consequences due to military actions in places of PHF location. The greatest threat among them pertains to power stations, chemical industry enterprises, mines, product pipelines and hydrotechnical structures, including places for the hazardous waste disposal. Significant disproportions in the production forces distribution, which took place over a long period of time, led to the following situation in Ukraine: the environmental technogenic burden became 4-5 times higher compared to the same in the developed countries. However, about 4600 PHF (17% of the total) are concentrated on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, so the space density factor is two times higher than the average value within the country, and in Donetsk region - 3 times higher (75,6 and 109,7 against 39,2 units/ths.km2 correspondingly). The major part of them, being the facilities of critical infrastructure, work using outdated technologies, in conditions of excessive deterioration (up to 70%) and dangerous decrease of subsoil strength because of flooding as well as widespread occurrence of karst processes typical for the region (85% of the territory) and the corrosion devastating effects on the structural elements of engineering communications and structures. -6- Ukrainian Research Institute of Engineering Ecology The highest level of technogenic burden in two eastern regions of Ukraine is greatly increased because of the presence of more than 650 FID, many of which carry a threat of chemical damage to the population. In general, at the beginning of the conflict, there were 218 production facilities in the region, being the place of storage and use of more than 84 thousand tons (28% of the total) of hazardous chemicals (including chlorine, ammonia, concentrated acids, benzene, methanol, formalin) intended for production activities. At the same time, 28 productions within the region considered comprised approximately a half of all plants of the 1st level - the highest level of chemical hazard in Ukraine. The concentration of a large number of hazardous facilities and high density of population in Donetsk and Luhansk regions caused a significant threats leading to death of the population because of accidental (emergency) situations, even during the peacetime. Only at 01.01.2014 2,6 million of people occupied the zones of possible chemical pollution within these regions, the total area of which had compounded 11 thousand km2. In the conditions of armed conflict, these threats have increased significantly. It happened not only because of the destruction and damage to enterprises due to the shells hit during hostilities. Violation of operation principles during work with hazardous facilities and insufficient replacement or the main production facilities updating had a significant negative influence to technogenic and environmental safety. For example, in the mining regions of the Donbas, in conditions of systematic violations of technological regulations of mines and opencasts water discharge there is an existential threat of catastrophic flooding/waterlogging of adjacent cities and villages, unpredictable emission of explosive methane in industrial and residential buildings, pollution of underground and surface water sources. Presence in the coal mining area more than 2,000 «pits» only intensifies shiftings and destruction of surface engineering infrastructure, as well as uncontrolled leakage of contaminated mine water into the feeding areas of surface and underground water intakes and the transboundary runoff of contaminated mine water in the Siversky Donets River. -7- DONBAS: Territory of eXistence Extensive interconnections of energy and resourses enforces the consequences of emergency situations when occurred. The probability of such issues is much more higher in conditions of armed conflict and military actions. Emergency during operation (stop, damage, destruction, etc.) of one facility in many cases leads to a chain reaction and appearance of cascade problems at the related manufacturing plants. Such emergencies considerably increase the level of hazard for environment and local population of the region through distribution, deterioration, prolongation of the consequences. Even disruption of transport infrastructure and logistics services caused by confrontation and military actions in the east of Ukraine result to increasing of the hazard severity rating of the facilities and administrative divisions located within these areas. As compared to Donetsk region, having better developed communication lines, and steadily declining quantity of dangerous chemicals during the recent years, the similar values in Luhansk region compared to 2013 (before the armed conflict) have increased rapidly. Only within the part of this region (where the processing industry enterprises and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Committed During the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine Between 2014–2018
    VIOLENT CRIMES Committed During the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine between 2014–2018 Kharkiv Human Rights Publisher 2018 УДК 355.012АТО(477)’’2014/2018’’(047)=111 Н31 THE List OF abbreviations This report was prepared with financial support of AI — Amnesty International; MTOT — Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Terri- tories and Internally Displaced Persons; ATO — Anti-Terrorist Operation; NGO — Non-Governmental Organization CC — Criminal Code of Ukraine; NPU — National Police of Ukraine; CMA — Civil-Military Administration; OTDLR — Occupied Territories of Donetsk and Lu- СMPO — Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office; hansk Regions; СP — Checkpoint; OSCE — Organization for Security and Coopera- CPC — Criminal Procedural Code; tion in Europe; EXCP — Entry-Exit Checkpoint; PLWHA — People Living with HIV/AIDS; DSA — District State Administration; RSA — Regional State Administration; RS — Rome Statute; ECHR — European Convention on Human Rights; Yuriy Aseev, Volodymyr Hlushchenko, Boris Knyrov, Natalia Okhotnikova, Anna Ovdiienko, LNR — the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s ECtHR — European Court of Human Rights; Olena Richko, Gennady Shcherbak, Pavlo Shvab, Yanina Smelyanska, Igor Sosonsky, Republic”; Gennadiy Tokarev, Martha Vovk, Anastasia Yegorova, Yevgeniy Zakharov GC — Geneva Convention(s) of 12 August 1949; DNR — the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Н31 Violent Crimes Committed During the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine between 2014–2018 / HRMM — UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission Republic”; compiler Yevgeniy Zakharov; CO “Kharkiv
    [Show full text]
  • Transformations of the Cultural Landscape of Donbas During the Armed Conflict 2015–2017
    Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej tom 6 (2017), s. 305–326 http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/2300-0562.06.13 Roman Slyvka, Liubov Slyvka, Yaroslava Atamaniuk Transformations of the cultural landscape of Donbas during the armed conflict 2015–2017 The main objective of the article – to show the different trajectories of the cultural land- scape in controlled and uncontrolled parts of the war-torn Donbas. The cultural landscape of Ukraine significantly changed during the twentieth century. The main factors of these transformations were ideological, military and geopolitical. The sub-ordinate position of Ukraine within the USSR allowed communist leaders to enforce sovietisation of the cultural landscape. This policy was especially noticeable in the great industrial region of Donbas. Achievements of independence by Ukraine and democratization of country' public life have led to transformation/conservation of the cultural landscape, which corresponded with political culture of individual regions. The war in the Donbas has become a catalyst for the processes of creating different types of cultural landscape on the different sides of the contact line. The policy of creating a cultural landscape has become an instrument of political socialization and mobilization of the population. This process is not complete, and can contribute to the crystallization of new subregional identities on different parts of contemporary Donbas. Keywords: Donbas, cultural landscape, post-soviet city, military conflict, decomunisa- tion, renaming, monument, policy of memory. 1. Introduction The conflict in Donbas deepened those political divisions that began to be observed in Ukrainian society since the 1990s. There are a number of visible elements of Donbas' cultural landscape, which indicates the drastic changes.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine 16 May to 15 August 2018
    Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 May to 15 August 2018 Contents Page I. Executive summary .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. OHCHR methodology ...................................................................................................................... 3 III. Impact of hostilities .......................................................................................................................... 3 A. Conduct of hostilities and civilian casualties ............................................................................. 3 B. Situation at the contact line and rights of conflict-affected persons ............................................ 7 1. Right to restitution and compensation for use or damage of private property ..................... 7 2. Right to social security and social protection .................................................................... 9 3. Freedom of movement, isolated communities and access to basic services ...................... 10 IV. Right to physical integrity ............................................................................................................... 11 A. Access to detainees and places of detention ............................................................................ 11 B. Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and abduction, torture and ill-treatment ............... 12 C. Situation
    [Show full text]
  • Iom Ukraine Covid-19 Response. Report #9
    IOM UKRAINE COVID-19 RESPONSE Report 9 (15 March 2021) Photo: IOM / Artem Getman FROM MASKS TO DEFIBRILLATORS: IOM AND JAPAN PROVIDE CRUCIAL EQUIPMENT TO HOSPITALS AND ENTRY-EXIT CROSSING POINTS IN EASTERN UKRAINE Five first-line hospitals in conflict- guards have also received much-needed affected Donetsk and Luhansk regions “In 2020, the SBGS personnel personal protective equipment and of Ukraine as well as five entry-exit registered almost 3 million people disinfectants, provided by IOM and crossing points (EECPs) at the contact at the entry-exit crossing points,” funded by Japan. line received much-needed equipment said Serhii Deineko, the Head of the from IOM. Assistance was delivered at State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Medical facilities* serving as primary the end of February with funding from “We are grateful to our international health-care providers for conflict-affected the Government of Japan. partners for their continued valuable population and persons crossing the support to Ukraine and Ukrainian contact line received modern medical To better equip the EECPs staff for citizens, especially those who equipment as requested by them: reacting to health emergencies, including have to cross the contact line. The 3 patient monitors, 2 portable oxygen life-threatening ones, IOM provided received medical equipment will concentrators, 2 electrocardiographs, 5 defibrillators, 25 resuscitation kits, improve the EECPs’ ability to assist a biochemical analyser, a sterilization 25 contactless thermometers and people,” said the Head of the SBGS. unit, a binocular microscope, an infusion 5 digital blood pressure monitors, with pump, a Holter monitor, a ventilator a total worth of USD 51,000, to the He added that previously, within the for non-invasive and invasive lung State Border Guard Service (SBGS) of framework of the project to prevent ventilation, 150 infrared thermometers, Ukraine.
    [Show full text]
  • Mental Health in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts - 2018
    Mental health in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts - 2018 1 Content List of abbreviations....................................................................................................................................... 3 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 4 2. METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH ....................................................................................................... 6 3. RESUME .................................................................................................................................................. 8 4. RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH .................................................. 13 5. PREVALENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG THE PEOPLE LIVING IN DONETSK AND LUHANSK OBLASTS ...................................................................................................................................... 16 А. Detecting the traumatic experience .................................................................................................... 16 B. Prevalence of symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety disorder, excess alcohol consumption. ........ 18 C. Prevalence of mental health problems among the inner circle of the respondents .......................... 27 D. Indicators of mental well-being .......................................................................................................... 27 6. ACCESS TO ASSISTANCE WHEN SUFFERING FROM
    [Show full text]
  • Survey Situations in Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene in Damaged by the Conflict Areas in Eastern Ukraine
    SURVEY SITUATIONS IN WATER SUPPLY, SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN DAMAGED BY THE CONFLICT AREAS IN EASTERN UKRAINE Customer: UN Children's Fund(UNICEF) Perfomer: Luhansk Regional charitable organization "Luhansk communities fund"KHORS " Terms of the survey: 15.12.2014-05.01.2015 Date of report: 15.01.2015 Фонд громадВибір Table of contents Name of the Project: ............................................................................................................................ 3 Survey objectives ................................................................................................................................. 3 Place for Survey Implementation ........................................................................................................ 3 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Limitations in making the survey ........................................................................................................ 4 Short description of survey results ...................................................................................................... 4 Territories ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Affected population ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Temporarily displaced people ........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • TRUTH TELLERS the First Journalists to Write About the Holodomor
    TRUTH TELLERS The first journalists to write about the Holodomor Rhea Clyman The First Western Journalist to Expose the Holodomor WHOA talented, young, fearless, self-taught Canadian reporter with a disability. Rhea Clyman (1904–1981) was a ground-breaking female journalist who became a foreign news correspondent at a time RHEA CLYMAN when it was almost unheard of for women to do so. Born Rachel Gertrude Clyman in Poland in 1904 1904-1981 (which was then a part of the Russian Empire), she moved to Toronto 2 years later with her poor immigrant Jewish family. At the age of 6, she lost part of her leg in a streetcar accident. The villages were WHAT Rhea Clyman became the first western strangely forlorn and journalist to witness and report on the starvation in deserted... The houses Ukraine, making a journey by car in September 1932 were empty, the doors through the agricultural heartland of the Soviet Union (USSR) during the Holodomor. She previously spent flung wide open, the a month travelling in the Soviet Far North, where she roofs were caving in... encountered Ukrainians who had fled from famine conditions in their homeland or who had been exiled and were being ruthlessly exploited as slave labour. When we had passed Her accounts of her two trips were published in 44 ten, fifteen of these feature articles in the Toronto Telegram newspaper villages I began to between September 1932 to June 1933. Of these, 21 were front-page stories. understand. These were the homes of WHEN She arrived in Moscow in late December 1928.
    [Show full text]
  • Problems of Mining the Prospective Coal-Bearing Areas in Donbas
    E3S Web of Conferences 123, 01011 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf /201912301011 Ukrainian School of Mining Engineering - 2019 Problems of mining the prospective coal- bearing areas in Donbas Serhii Nehrii1*, Tetiana Nehrii1, Leonid Bachurin2, and Hanna Piskurska3 1Donetsk National Technical University, Department of Mineral Deposits Development, 2 Shybankova Sq., 85300 Pokrovsk, Ukraine 2Donetsk National Technical University, Department of Production Management and Occupational Safety, 2 Shybankova Sq., 85300 Pokrovsk, Ukraine 3Donetsk National Technical University, Department of Language Training, 2 Shybankova Sq., 85300 Pokrovsk, Ukraine Abstract. The prospective coal-bearing areas of Donbas in Ukraine have been identified. Their development will increase the energy security of Ukraine. It has been suggested that the development of these areas will involve mining the coal seams in a weak roof and floor environment, which are characterized by low compressive strength, lower density and a tendency to plastic deformations. The stability has been assessed of the rocks outcrop on the contour of mine roadways for mines operating in these areas. It has been determined that roof rocks in most of these mines belong to a range of groups from very unstable to moderately stable, and the bottom rocks are, in most cases, prone to swelling. This complicates the intensive prospective areas mining with the use of advanced technologies, as well as secondary support for retained goaf-side gateroads with limited yielding property. The mines have been determined, for which this issue is relevant when mining the seams with further increase in the depth. The mechanism of displacement in the secondary supports and has been exemplified and studied using the numerical method.
    [Show full text]
  • ENGLISH Only
    SEC.FR/876/20 29 December 2020 OSCE+ ENGLISH only THEMATIC REPORT CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE CONTACT LINE: CHALLENGES CIVILIANS FACE WHEN CROSSING 1 November 2019 - 15 November 2020 December 2020 1 Published by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine © OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine 2020 All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may be freely used and copied for non-commercial purposes, provided that any such reproduction is accompanied by an acknowledgement of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine as the source. Available electronically in English, Ukrainian and Russian at: http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive summary 4 Introduction 7 Chapter 1: Legislative and regulatory developments 9 Measures taken at the entry-exit checkpoints (EECP) and at the corresponding checkpoints of the 9 armed formations amid the COVID-19 outbreak (16 March to 10 June 2020) Regulatory developments following the partial reopening of the EECPs and of the corresponding check- 10 points (10 June to 15 November 2020) Other developments 12 Chapter 2: Impact on civilians of the freedom of movement restrictions and of the crossing requirements 14 after the partial reopening of the EECPs and the corresponding checkpoints Impact of freedom of movement restrictions on access to rights and services 14 Partial reopening of the EECPs and corresponding checkpoints, and burden of crossing requirements 18 on civilians Chapter 3: Opening of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge and construction works near Zolote and Shchas- 22 tia Opening of the renovated section of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge 22 Construction and works near Shchastia and Zolote 22 Conclusion 26 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Crucial aspects of the lives of civilians in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine depend on their ability to cross the contact line.
    [Show full text]
  • Daily Report 185/2021 10 August 20211
    - 1 - 1 Daily Report 185/2021 10 August 20211 Summary In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 28 ceasefire violations, including one explosion. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 116 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded no ceasefire violations. In the previous 24 hours, it recorded 75 ceasefire violations. The SMM followed up on reports of a man injured due to shelling in government-controlled Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. It recorded ceasefire violations inside the disengagement area near Petrivske. The SMM facilitated and monitored adherence to a localized ceasefire to enable the operation of critical civilian infrastructure. The Mission continued following up on the situation of civilians, including at four entry-exit checkpoints and three corresponding checkpoints of the armed formations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The SMM visited a border crossing point outside government control and monitored areas near the border with the Russian Federation in Donetsk region. The SMM monitored a gathering in Kyiv. The Mission’s freedom of movement continued to be restricted, including at three checkpoints of the armed formations in southern Donetsk. Its unmanned aerial vehicles again experienced instances of GPS signal interference.* Ceasefire violations 2 Number of recorded ceasefire violations 3 Number of recorded explosions4 1 Based on information from the Monitoring Teams as of 19:30, 9 August 2021. All times are in Eastern European Summer Time. 2 For a complete breakdown of ceasefire violations, please see the annexed table. 3 Including explosions. 4 Including from unidentified weapons.
    [Show full text]
  • Hybrid Warfare and the Protection of Civilians in Ukraine
    ENTERING THE GREY-ZONE: Hybrid Warfare and the Protection of Civilians in Ukraine civiliansinconflict.org i RECOGNIZE. PREVENT. PROTECT. AMEND. PROTECT. PREVENT. RECOGNIZE. Cover: June 4, 2013, Spartak, Ukraine: June 2021 Unexploded ordnances in Eastern Ukraine continue to cause harm to civilians. T +1 202 558 6958 E [email protected] civiliansinconflict.org ORGANIZATIONAL MISSION AND VISION Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the protection of civilians in conflict. CIVIC envisions a world in which no civilian is harmed in conflict. Our mission is to support communities affected by conflict in their quest for protection and strengthen the resolve and capacity of armed actors to prevent and respond to civilian harm. CIVIC was established in 2003 by Marla Ruzicka, a young humanitarian who advocated on behalf of civilians affected by the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Honoring Marla’s legacy, CIVIC has kept an unflinching focus on the protection of civilians in conflict. Today, CIVIC has a presence in conflict zones and key capitals throughout the world where it collaborates with civilians to bring their protection concerns directly to those in power, engages with armed actors to reduce the harm they cause to civilian populations, and advises governments and multinational bodies on how to make life-saving and lasting policy changes. CIVIC’s strength is its proven approach and record of improving protection outcomes for civilians by working directly with conflict-affected communities and armed actors. At CIVIC, we believe civilians are not “collateral damage” and civilian harm is not an unavoidable consequence of conflict—civilian harm can and must be prevented.
    [Show full text]
  • Citizens and the State in the Government-Controlled Territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions Problems, Challenges and Visions of the Future
    Citizens and the state in the government-controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions Problems, challenges and visions of the future Funded by: This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union through International Alert. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of International Alert and UCIPR and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Layout: Nick Wilmot Creative Front cover image: A mother and daughter living in temporary accommodation for those displaced by the violence in Donetsk, 2014. © Andrew McConnell/Panos © International Alert/Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research 2017 Citizens and the state in the government-controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions Problems, challenges and visions of the future October 2017 2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3 2. Methodology 6 3. Findings 7 4. Statements from interviewees 22 5. Conclusions and recommendations 30 Citizens and the state in the government-controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions 3 1. INTRODUCTION The demarcation line (the line of contact)1 and the ‘grey zone’ between the government-controlled2 and uncontrolled territories3 of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions separates the parties to the conflict in the east of Ukraine. The areas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities and bordering the ‘grey zone’ are very politically sensitive, highly militarised, and fall under a special governance regime that is different from the rest of the country. In the absence of a comprehensive political settlement and amid uncertain prospects, it is unclear how long this situation will remain. It is highly likely that over the next few years, Ukrainians in areas adjacent to the contact line will live under very particular and unusual governance structures, and in varying degrees of danger.
    [Show full text]