Surviving in front line towns and villages in eastern Ukraine had resulted in civilians living in fear and desperate conditions – on both sides of the conflict. Rocket and artillery fire not only damaged residential areas but also left people with no access to water, gas and electricity. Heavy fighting saw locals take shelter in basements while in other cases hospitals were evacuated – leaving many with emotional and psychological traumas.

Pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in the city of Donetsk during Victory Day parade. Tanks, grad rockets, and other military hardware were driven through the city marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 9.

Ukrainian soldiers and civilians leave Debaltseve behind. Ukrainian soldiers feel a mixture of relief and distress as they withdrew from the Battle of Debaltseve. Some had walked 20 km through fields to avoid roads that had been mined. In no man’s land schools and buildings remain deserted.

In the Donbas region coal extracted from small and dangerous mines provides a lifeline in the form of much-needed money and heat in war-torn eastern Ukraine. In rural parts of the country during winter coal is used as a heating source, which is considerably cheaper than other energy forms.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. On 17 July 2014 it was shot down, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. Debris fell in area controlled by the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic at the time of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Donetsk Peoples Republic was declared by the Donetsk Republic's organisational committee after it organised its own referendum. The move was condemned by Ukraine’s government in Kyiv and the West.