As an uneasy ceasefire continues to hold in eastern Ukraine, VICE News returns to Donetsk with an exclusive film that follows some of the characters involved in setting up the self-proclaimed state of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
In early April 2014, pro-Russia rebels seized the regional administration building and other key institutions in Donetsk, expelling Ukrainian officials and raising their own flag. The rebellion here — and other incidents elsewhere — quickly escalated into a bloody civil war that has left over 2,000 people dead and displaced more than a million.
Videos by VICE
Filmed over six weeks, this documentary follows the chaotic birth of the DPR as it tries to forge a path to independence and closer ties to Russia.
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