Season July 2014

The ceasefire in Ukraine between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian military technically ended on Monday, but the ceasefire never lived up to its name. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky traveled to several checkpoints around the eastern city of Sloviansk and spoke to soldiers who had been attacked by pro-Russia forces in recent days — attacks that resulted in dozens of deaths.

Not long after a so-called ceasefire ended in eastern Ukraine Monday night, the Ukrainian military sent a column of artillery into Sloviansk and officially began its offensive. The Russian and Ukrainian governments, along with representatives from the OSCE, called for a new effort to establish another ceasefire, setting a deadline of Saturday for the resumption of talks. For now, however, the war continues. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky traveled around the outskirts of the city and visited several checkpoints where soldiers were preparing for what's to come.

On July 5, the eastern Ukrainian town of Sloviansk was recaptured by the Ukrainian military, driving out pro-Russia rebels and ending their three-month occupation. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky travels back to Sloviansk and visits the cell in which he was held for days by those rebels in April. The city is in shambles and residents are struggling to find food and water despite a considerable humanitarian effort. The pro-Russia rebels have retreated to Donetsk, but the Ukrainian government is determined to pursue its anti-terror operation until there are no rebels left.

On July 5, the pro-Russia rebels who had been occupying the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk for the past three months retreated to Donetsk, marking a pivotal shift in the conflict. After Ukraine's military recaptured Sloviansk, VICE News visited some of the former rebel checkpoints surrounding the city, interviewed a pro-Russia rebel in Donetsk, and went to a "peace rally" where Pavel Gubarev, the pro-Russia governor of The People's Republic of Donetsk, proclaimed that the rebels would not be defeated. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to continue his government's anti-terror operation until Ukraine is rid of the rebels.

Although Pro-Russia separatists have been largely driven out of Donetsk and Luhansk, they still control significant parts of eastern Ukraine. In this dispatch, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky goes hunting for separatists with Oleh Lyashko, a Ukrainian politician who placed third in the most recent presidential election. Ostrovsky embeds with Lyashko's personal security forces as they successfully track down Viktor Rybalko, a pro-Russia separatist who organized the referendum in Luhansk calling for independence and allegiance with Russia. What Lyashko does is technically illegal, but he believes that the police are not doing their job and has taken it upon himself to bring order back to eastern Ukraine.

Two weeks after the separatist rebels of the Donetsk People's Republic fled their stronghold of Sloviansk, Ukraine's anti­-terror operation continues. In the neighboring region of Luhansk, the Ukrainian military has been battling with separatists for control of Luhansk city and its strategically important airport — but with both sides using artillery, homes are being destroyed and people are being killed. Meanwhile near Donetsk, fighting has reached outlying villages as the military looks to encircle separatist forces inside the city, who vow to make their last stand among its 1 million inhabitants. VICE News speaks to the civilians in Luhansk and Donetsk who find themselves in the middle of the bloody campaign — and who are dying as a result.

Today, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 295 people was shot down — allegedly by pro-Russia separatists — in eastern Ukraine, dramatically changing the scope of Ukraine's months-long conflict. On Wednesday, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky spoke to US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, who said he has no doubt Russia is arming the separatists, effectively encouraging the escalation of the fighting.

Weeks into the separatists' siege of Luhansk airport, the Ukrainian military attempts a risky plan to lift the siege and resupply their stranded comrades. Although the bid to break through rebel lines is successful, it comes at a heavy price; the following morning, rebel forces celebrate their kills. And just three days before Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is shot down over eastern Ukraine, rebel forces shoot down a Ukrainian military transport plane. VICE News arrives at the still-smoldering crash site as locals pick through wreckage looking for souvenirs to keep and scrap metal to sell.

On Thursday, July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 298 people was shot down over eastern Ukraine — allegedly by pro-Russia separatists. Residents in the area described bodies falling from the sky and landing in their own backyards. VICE News travels to the still-gruesome scene of the crash and speaks to residents who witnessed firsthand a tragedy that promises to dramatically alter the terms of the conflict.

Last week, a Malaysian passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. It has yet to be confirmed who shot it down, but US and Ukrainian officials have blamed the pro-Russia rebels. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky is in the Luhansk region with the Ukrainian military to see what, if anything, has changed in the conflict after the plane disaster.

One week after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people onboard, authorities have yet to determine for certain who was responsible for launching the missile that destroyed the plane. Many Ukrainians, however, are convinced it was the pro-Russia rebels who committed the act of “terrorism;” Russia continues to deny involvement. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky is in Kharkiv as the investigation continues. He attends a pro-Ukrainian rally, then travels to the Kharkiv airport, where the bodies of many of the passengers arrive to be sent back to the Netherlands for identification and burial.

On July 24, 14 bodies were exhumed from a burial site in Sloviansk. The victims were civilians, all of whom are believed to have been killed by pro-Russia separatists when they were occupying the area. According to Ukrainian officials, there are roughly 300 people missing in Sloviansk, and mass and individual graves are consistently being found. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky investigated what may have been behind these murders, traveling to the mass grave site near Sloviansk as the bodies were being unearthed. He also met up with journalist Chris Miller, who found signed death warrants and proof that the separatists were operating under their own form of martial law while controlling Sloviansk.