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RF287725SHOOT DATE:12 January, 2017LOCATION:
Luhanske
Svitlodarsk
COUNTRY:
Ukraine
Ukraine. UNHCR delivers coal to village on the frontlineHalyna, 79, stands outside her home after receiving a coal supply to heat her home in the village of Luhanske, Donetsk.BACKGROUND INFORMATION:In mid January 2017, UNHCR visited villages on the frontline of the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine to deliver coal supplies to people trying to get through the winter with no money or heating supplies and few winter clothes. Many towns are portraits of desolation – with houses half-destroyed by shells, bullets and fires, forests littered with mines and desperate people relying on fuel handouts to survive the long harsh winter. Since the conflict began in March 2014, over 2 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes. In early 2017, 800,000 people, most of them elderly or vulnerable, remained in or near the conflict zone. Although a ceasefire was agreed in 2015, outbreaks of fighting continue in Donetsk and Luhansk.