A Look At The Humanitarian Crisis In Eastern Ukraine

Donetsk Residents Struggle With Daily Life Amid Ukraine Conflict -- NBC

DONETSK, Ukraine — Among shattered windows and the sounds of fighting, Alina wondered how her house was still standing. Her neighborhood in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk had been shelled the night before.

"Without any warning," she recalled while standing amid broken glass. "It was a miracle that it didn't hit my house ... Everything is so unexpected."

The city has found itself at the heart of a months-long conflict between Ukraine government troops and pro-Russia rebels who want to declare their own state. According to the United Nations, the violence has killed more than 4,300 people and displaced one million others.

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My Comment: Russia is sending in some assistance .... Russia Sends Aid Convoy to Rebels as Ukraine Marks Anniversary (Bloomberg) .... but it is not enough to meet the population's needs. And as for those who have left, life has been very difficult .... 'We have no homeland': Ukraine dissolves as exiles flee (Globe and Mail). More here .... Kiev charity offers a little warmth to families fleeing the east (AFP).

My aunt lives in Kharkiv (Ukraine's second largest city), and while she and her husband are determined to stay there, my cousins and their families made the decision a few months ago to leave to Russia. And while the fighting has not reached her part of Ukraine, tensions are very high between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian communities. The rest of my family lives in Kiev, south of Kiev, and near Odessa ..... they are going to stay .... but they have all noticed the massive influx of refugees, and while they feel sorry for them, the real big fear is that they will themselves become part of this refugee wave. I live in Montreal (Canada) .... I have offered to my family to come and stay here until the crisis is over, or to move into my condo in Moscow, which I only use when I visit there. But everyone has declined my offer .... so far.

The above video is from RT correspondent Maria Finoshina .... she started filming a report on refugees fleeing Lugansk and decided to help several people to evacuate in exchange for a chance to interview them.