--- description: 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... title: See Photographs From Eastern Ukraine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09fb7a26e4981a0e/69869fb835ba6f03a0c036e8/donetsk4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # War Claims Thousands of Lives in Eastern Ukraine by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2014 8:28 PM CUT  A man clears debris as the Ukrainian army retakes a village from pro-Russian rebels onAugust 13, 2014 in Uglegorsk. Ukraine. A man clears debris as the Ukrainian army retakes a village from pro-Russian rebels onAugust 13, 2014 in Uglegorsk. Ukraine.Pierre Crom—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2014 8:28 PM CUT As developments at the MH17 crash site have slowed, fighting in Eastern Ukraine has increased. According to the [United Nations human rights office](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/13/uk-ukraine-crisis-un-toll-idUKKBN0GD0YA20140813 "undefined"), 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—AP  Vera and Vladimir leave a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPA  A 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—AP  A man clears debris as the Ukrainian army retakes a village from pro-Russian rebels onAugust 13, 2014 in Uglegorsk. Ukraine. Pierre Crom—Getty Images  Tatiana, 9, stands in a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPA  Bloody footprints on the pavement after shelling in Donetsk on August 14, 2014. Dimitar Dilkoff—AFP/Getty Images  Firemen 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 Images  Local people sit in a shelter in Ilovaysk, some 50km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on August 14, 2014. Sergei Ilnitsky—EPA  People 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 Images  Shells damage a residential building on August 11, 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine. Pierre Crom—Getty Images  Member 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—EPA  Passengers during a train trip from the village of Alchevsk towards Luhansk, Ukraine on August 13, 2014. Mauricio Lima—The New York Times/Redux  A 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. 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