As developments at the MH17 crash site have slowed, fighting in Eastern Ukraine has increased. According to the United Nations human rights office, the death toll from the Ukraine conflict doubled last week from 1,129 on July 26 to 2,086 on Aug. 10. Heavy shelling between the Ukrainian military forces and pro-Russian separatists continues, trapping civilians in the middle. Residents in and around the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk find their lives interrupted as the military tries to regain control of two of its largest cities.
A woman walks by a burning local market after shelling in the town of Yasynuvata, near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 12, 2014. Mstyslav Chernov—APVera and Vladimir leave a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPAA dead body lies in a street in the city's southwestern Petrovsky district after shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 13, 2014. Sergei Grits—APA man clears debris as the Ukrainian army retakes a village from pro-Russian rebels onAugust 13, 2014 in Uglegorsk. Ukraine. Pierre Crom—Getty ImagesTatiana, 9, stands in a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPABloody footprints on the pavement after shelling in Donetsk on August 14, 2014.Dimitar Dilkoff—AFP/Getty ImagesFiremen try to put out a fire in Voroshyloskyi, a residential area of Donetsk, after it was hit by artillery shelling on August 14, 2014 in Ukraine. Pierre Crom—Getty ImagesLocal people sit in a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPAPeople deliver aid for refugees occupying a building of the National University of Donetsk as shelter from conflict on August 12, 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine.Pierre Crom—Getty ImagesShells damage a residential building on August 11, 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine.Pierre Crom—Getty ImagesMember of the Donetsk People's Republic militias carry trays with bread for locals hiding in shelters in Ilovaysk 50km from Donetsk, Ukraine on August 14, 2014.Sergei Ilnitsky—EPAPassengers during a train trip from the village of Alchevsk towards Luhansk, Ukraine on August 13, 2014.Mauricio Lima—The New York Times/ReduxA couple lights a candle as they pray in a lower room of a church which was reportedly damaged by shelling in Luhansk, Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Mauricio Lima—The New York Times/Redux