With front lines virtually unchanged in three years, economic life is returning to the government-controlled sections of Donetsk and Luhansk regions,

With front lines virtually unchanged in three years, economic life is returning to the government-controlled sections of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, says Alexander Hug, OSCE principal deputy chief monitor. After 4.5 years in Ukraine, Hug, a Swiss military lawyer, leaves Ukraine today. Farming increasingly goes to the edge of the 450 km long separation line — and sometimes inside. Outside this 30-km wide strip, landmines and unexploded shells are being cleared. Some roads are being repaved. “There are improvements in hotels, new restaurants – taxi service,” Hug tells the Morning News. “On both sides, civilians are trying to navigate the new reality.”