David Cameron compares Russia to Nazi Germany on eve of Putin meeting

[bemildred]

14. Ukraine's separatist vote stirs up tensions

Pro-Russia leaders' election in Ukraine's east shows bloody conflict is far from a peaceful resolution.

Donetsk, Ukraine - Signs of a conflict are everywhere in war-torn Donetsk, but with glimmers of normalcy. Shelling can still be heard despite a ceasefire, but that doesn't deter pedestrians in this rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine.

Roads remain relatively empty in what was once home to about one million people, however.

On one street in the city centre, a shoe store blares dance music from its entrance. Next door, a shop is closed up with tape across its windows - a common sight here as the adhesive protects the glass from shattering during artillery fire.

Most businesses have closed, some boarded up, but the grocery stores that remain open are well-stocked.
At night, the few bars operating are visited by women in full make-up and heels who stand next to booths filled with men carrying rifles and wearing camouflage. Old billboards advertising spring clothing dot a main road, oblivious to a recent snowfall.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/11/ukraine-separatist-vote-stirs-up-tensions-201411315753377183.html