Lera Burlakova first traveled to eastern Ukraine’s
Donbass region in 2014 as a journalist to report on the violence between the
Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatist forces. After a week of covering
the war in the town of Pisky, Burlakova decided writing about it was not
enough: She wanted to fight for her country. “I couldn’t stand aside,” says
Burlakova, 30. “I came back to Kiev for three days, quit my job and returned to
Pisky as a soldier.”
Almost three years later, Burlakova is an experienced
veteran in a war that has led to the deaths of more than 9,000 people,
including civilians, Ukrainian troops, separatists, Russian servicemen and
members of pro-Kiev militias. Pounded by daily shelling, many towns near the
front lines—including government-controlled Pisky—are now practically empty.
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