Ukraine: Drone video shows cost of intense fighting in east

By The Associated Press

MARINKA, Ukraine (AP) — Although Friday marks the grim first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, fighting between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops has raged in the country’s east since 2014. The town of Marinka is among those that have been reduced to rubble. It is in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, where territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control. The front line runs through what is left of the town. New video footage shot from the air with a drone for The Associated Press shows how particularly intense fighting since the invasion has left no building in Marinka intact. Shell-fire has also made matchsticks of the town’s trees. Russian tank-fire, filmed Feb. 19, further added to the destruction.