In the wake of February's ouster of an unpopular Moscow-backed president, two pro-Russian eastern regions -- Donetsk and Lugansk -- rose up in protest at Kiev's shift towards Europe.
The separatist commanders have since declared their own republics and will settle for no less than Ukraine becoming a loose federation in which they manage most of their own affairs.
This option is backed firmly by Russia but rejected by Ukrainian nationalists who make up an important part of President Petro Poroshenko's government.
Ukraine has remained tightly centralised since independence and is only now considering easing its hold over the country's regions in order to stem public resentment over the relative prosperity enjoyed in Kiev.
View galleryAlexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed …
Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, meets with fami …
Such problems have undermined peace accords reached in Minsk in September that Poroshenko was forced into after the rebels mounted a surprisingly effective counteroffensive.
NATO believes the rebel surge was backed by crack Russian forces and tanks, witnessed by reporters on the ground at the time.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin denies sending in his army and calls soldiers who crossed into the war zone volunteers who were "answering the call of the heart".
The overall toll in the Ukraine conflict -- Europe's bloodiest since the Balkan wars of the 1990s -- now stands at more than 4,700.
But UN officials fear the true number may be much higher because the militias have been hiding their losses and denying outsiders access to their burial sites.
In the wake of February's ouster of an unpopular Moscow-backed president, two pro-Russian eastern regions -- Donetsk and Lugansk -- rose up in protest at Kiev's shift towards Europe.
The separatist commanders have since declared their own republics and will settle for no less than Ukraine becoming a loose federation in which they manage most of their own affairs.
This option is backed firmly by Russia but rejected by Ukrainian nationalists who make up an important part of President Petro Poroshenko's government.
Ukraine has remained tightly centralised since independence and is only now considering easing its hold over the country's regions in order to stem public resentment over the relative prosperity enjoyed in Kiev.
View galleryAlexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed …
Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, meets with fami …
Such problems have undermined peace accords reached in Minsk in September that Poroshenko was forced into after the rebels mounted a surprisingly effective counteroffensive.
NATO believes the rebel surge was backed by crack Russian forces and tanks, witnessed by reporters on the ground at the time.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin denies sending in his army and calls soldiers who crossed into the war zone volunteers who were "answering the call of the heart".
The overall toll in the Ukraine conflict -- Europe's bloodiest since the Balkan wars of the 1990s -- now stands at more than 4,700.
But UN officials fear the true number may be much higher because the militias have been hiding their losses and denying outsiders access to their burial sites.
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