Donetsk during cease-fire. PHOTOS
Fragile cease-fire in the Donbas became effective in mid-February. Both sides of the conflict slowly withdraw artillery and other heavy weapons from the front line. Rebel-controlled cities gradually return to normal life. Photographer Max Avdeev spent some time in Donetsk during the war. Now he is witnessing how the cease-fire is abode by.
As reported by Censor.NET, website Мeduza published Avdeev's picture story about life in the 'DPR's capital during another cease-fire.
Donetsk residents look at a residential building which was hit by shelling.
A house near a mine in one of the most destroyed districts of Donetsk. Locals say this building was hit by Ukrainian army's howitzer, while a neighboring one was destroyed by the separatists' Grad. This district is located at the so-called 'contact line,' so it is hit by both sides.
A woman waters plants in Donetsk's Botanical Garden. The facility's operating hours have been cut to 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and many of the staff haven't seen a paycheck in a long time, but they continue to work, with help from the Foundation for Rare Plants.
Donetsk's Oktyabrsky district.
What's left of Donetsk's flea market.
A five-story building destroyed by a direct artillery hit. Three of the building's floors are simply gone.
Books and debris from a private home destroyed by a BM-21 Grad missile.
A private home destroyed by a BM-21 Grad missile. The basement has not withstood the explosion. In the background stands the town of Kondratiivka.
A priest passes through ruins of his church in the Petrivka district. The building caught fire and burned down after being hit by a howitzer shell.
A family gathers in Makiivka, near Donetsk. Sasha, 15-year-old, fought over the summer in the battle for the Donetsk airport in the separatists' 15th International Brigade. His family is celebrating his older sister's birthday. The family is thoroughly middle-class, but they actively supported Sasha's decision to fight in the war. Many of them are former supporters of the Maidan movement, the people around the table sometimes start speaking Ukrainian. Despite their love for Ukrainian culture, however, Sasha's mother and father say they no longer believe in a united Ukraine.
Cash services at a shopping mall in Donetsk. Many in the city receive their pensions and benefits to bank accounts, none of which currently function in the 'Donetsk People's Republic.' A commission has been established to address this problem. Its offices transfer individuals' money to their accounts, in exchange for hard cash, charging a small commission.
A bus station in Donetsk destroyed by artillery fire.
A hospital in Horlivka. Valya, 24-year-old, and Vika, 5-year-old, are from Novohorlivka, a town severely damaged by artillery strikes.
A young man killed by shelling near the DMZ. He and his mother were hit by a missile. She survived and was taken to the hospital earlier.
A shelter near the Zasyadko coal mine.
On the perimeter of Yenakiieve, where separatists fired their artillery.
A burial at a cemetery in Donetsk.
67-year-old Viktor Harashchenko sits in his bombed out home.
A woman killed in the basement of a house in Lohvynova, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the center of Donetsk.
Nameless graves in a cemetery near Donetsk.
