That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for January 13, 2019. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
The Last Link Of Luhansk
'Friendship Of The Peoples' Is A Street Divided Between Ukraine, Russia
By Tony Wesolowsky, Anastasia Magazova, and Andriy Dubchak
MILOVE, Ukraine -- Friendship Of The Peoples Street used to be more like a bridge, with the lives of residents in the Ukrainian border town of Milove intersecting with their neighbors just a stone's throw away in Russia's Chertkovo.
But today, a lengthy barbed-wire fence bisects the street, and patrols and checkpoints make clear that the relationship is not what it was.
Russian border guards built the 3-meter-high barrier four months ago, separating families and neighbors who had crossed freely between the two towns for decades.
"See that guy there?" asks Olena with a laugh as she points toward the fence. "He's already standing in Russia."
But the resident of Milove, who gave only her first name, is not joking. Her town lies in Luhansk Oblast, which has been riven by a war in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv and separatist forces. The man she points to is in Rostov Oblast, part of Russia, which is backing separatists in Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
The once-neighborly relationship turned chilly in 2014, when Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and sided with the separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
The fighting has claimed more than 10,300 lives and prompted the West to impose sanctions against Russia, which denies involvement in the conflict despite a raft of evidence proving otherwise.
Milove has largely avoided the violence that has plagued other areas of Luhansk, parts of which are controlled by separatists, but Olena says the fence --erected amid deteriorating relations -- has compounded economic hardships for Milove residents.
"Russians bought fruits and vegetables here because they were cheaper and better. Now, small businesses are having a tough time," she says.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
