Volodymyr Runets is a correspondent for Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
Potential ways to end Ukraine’s conflict with Russia-backed separatists in its eastern Donbas region were a key talking point between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York City on September 25. To find out how Donbas residents themselves assess the chances for a breakthrough, Current Time reporter Volodymyr Runets talked to residents of the Ukrainian-controlled, frontline town of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast.
Reports of Russian mercenaries taking part in the war with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have dogged the conflict since its 2014 start. But how to distinguish between rumor and reality? Current Time tracked down some of the alleged Vagner fighters to the Soviet-era industrial hub of Tolyatti in Russia and spoke with Ukraine's Security Service for further details.
