While the impeachment inquiry raged in DC, I visited soldiers on Ukraine's front line who depend on US military aid. They told me: “Nobody in your country knows what’s happening here. They don’t know how we are fighting for our lives.” buzzfeednews.com/article/christ… 📸 by @EMaloletka!
@EMaloletka There's a lot in this report, inc types of US military aid on the Ukraine front line, how it's being used in the country's fight against Russia, how it has saved soldiers' lives & how some of it doesn't work all that well. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ… 📸 @EMaloletka for @BuzzFeedNews 
@EMaloletka @BuzzFeedNews Yuriy Krupko, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 28th Mechanized Brigade, told me US military equipment "saves our butts every day."
Here's an example of that:
Here's an example of that:
@EMaloletka @BuzzFeedNews You better believe Ukraine's troops weren't thrilled when they heard Trump & co. were using military aid meant to help them in their existential fight as leverage. "While they were playing with our aid, I wonder, did they know we were dying out here?" buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
@EMaloletka @BuzzFeedNews I kid you not, one Ukrainian soldier — Stas from Donetsk — found out about the US military aid being held up by watching @colbertlateshow clips on YouTube between gunfights. (He's also a big @nbcsnl fan and loves Alec Baldwin's Trump impression.) buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
@EMaloletka @BuzzFeedNews @colbertlateshow @nbcsnl The story isn't all about US military aid and Ukraine's military, though. It's about the people caught in the crossfire of Russia's war against Ukraine. US aid helps Ukrainian troops protect people like Svitlana and her family in war-ravaged Avdiivka... buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
...and elderly Ukrainians like Baba Masha here, who told me a gut-wrenching story about having to bury her son in a rocket crater in her yard. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ… (Again, all photos by @EMaloletka for @BuzzFeedNews.)
Here’s a map showing the front line in eastern Ukraine and all the cities, towns, and villages where we reported from last week. The front line is roughly 250 miles long.
Now adding some photos, videos and observations from my latest trip to eastern Ukraine here. Some not in the story.
First, tanks aren’t at the front line much these days but they’re not far off and certainly ready to go if needed. We caught the end of a Ukrainian tank exercise.
First, tanks aren’t at the front line much these days but they’re not far off and certainly ready to go if needed. We caught the end of a Ukrainian tank exercise.
The new bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska was built impressively fast and locals who have to cross it are very pleased. Ukrainian President Zelensky opened it on Wednesday. Here’s what it looked like last week. Hard to imagine a clearer symbol of peace hopes than this.
Ukrainian and Russian-led forces are a mere 60 meters apart in some places, including in Avdiivka, where this photo was taken. I didn’t need the scope to see fighters on the other side but I certainly wasn’t going to poke my head up for the snipers.
That’s how many soldiers on both sides are being killed these days, by snipers. The war isn’t as intense as it was in 2014-15. Instead of heavy artillery it’s mostly the sides slowly trying to break each other down. The front line’s mostly static. The trenches are getting deeper.
US military aid is ubiquitous, but you need to know what you're looking for. Here's what we found at a military hospital in Chasiv Yar: US medical tents, generators, scanners, printers, defibrillators, ultrasound machines & more. (These photos by @EMaloletka for @BuzzFeedNews.)
If any of you have specific questions about the war in eastern Ukraine, I’d be happy to answer them here. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few photos from my digital notebook.
