On November 3, the citizens of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic elected Alexander Zakharchenko as their prime minister, marking a supposed turning point in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
In the days after the election, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky interviewed civilians in Donetsk about their lives over the past few months — visiting locals working in a market that sits dangerously close to the ongoing battle for Donetsk’s airport, as well as others who have been living in a bomb shelter for months following the destruction of their homes.