The city of Luhansk, the seat of the self-declared separatist "Luhansk People's Republic," is one of the flashpoints of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Some rebels in the Luhansk region agreed to observe a 10-day cease-fire called by President Petro Poroshenko, but renewed clashes broke out in the region even before the truce expired on June 30. But in the city of Luhansk, residents are carrying on with daily life despite the crisis unfolding nearby. RFE/RL correspondent Andrei Babitsky filed these photos of a city in a state of limbo.
Fragile Calm Reigns In Luhansk, Ukraine
1
A quiet, nearly empty street in the city of Luhansk
2
Children play in a public fountain.
3
Families stroll in Luhansk.
4
Signs of the recent violence appear amid the relative calm. A memorial to victims of recent clashes stands near the regional administration building.
5
An explosion struck the separatist-held administration building on June 2, killing at least eight people. Rebels claimed the blast was an air strike by the Ukrainian military, a charge rejected by officials in Kyiv.
6
7
People stand outside the regional administration building.
9
10
A World War I-era British tank stands as a monument to Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.
11
Near the city of Luhansk, pro-Russian separatists man a checkpoint.
12
A quiet street in Luhansk
