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.
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Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to continue his government’s anti-terror operation until Ukraine is rid of the rebels.
