Seven years of a devastating armed conflict, an international blockade, and criminal warfare have left Ukraine's Donbas region in a state of disarray. Denis Kazanskyi and Maryna Vorotyntseva, as well as several other Ukrainian journalists call the region a "ghetto." Half of the population of the Donbas has left it for Russia, Ukraine-controlled territory, or destinations further west.
The rest have lost any hope for the future, whether Donbas stays in the Ukrainian state or is incorporated into Russia.