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