Trapped In His Own Labyrinth

摘要

Vladimir Putin's shadow war is no longer. For months, anti-Kiev militants-a collection of disaffected ethnic Russians from eastern Ukraine, nationalist volunteers from Russia, and tourist mercenaries from across the former Soviet Union-have fought a grinding battle with the Ukrainian state. Their grievances and fears were local and often genuine, but the money, supplies, propaganda, and diplomatic cover were Russian. The war was an extension of the postmodern and cynical world of Putin-era politics-in which the only thing that matters is the accumulation and preservation of power. It was a fight as murky as it was grim; and among civilians trapped in besieged cities between the two ragtag and poorly trained military forces, casualties piled up.