Ukraine’s internal border

On a blistering-hot summer day, cars and people with bags and suitcases take their place in a kilometer-long line on a country road. To Ukrainians, these images seem like television reports on wars or natural disaster, something they only used to see on television. Now, the dividing line has become part of everyday life in the separatist regions of the east and the rest of the country. It is a de facto border, one that does not oficially exist. The crossing point in Zaiceva, north of the separatist stronghold Donetsk, now bears the bureaucratic designation of "military point of entry and exit." In the Donetsk region, there are a total of three such crossing points.

For two and a half hours, a young woman who calls herself Olga and her 1-year-old child have been waiting in their car, queued up in a special line for families with children and for the elderly. Olga takes her child to a first-aid tent at the roadside set up just a few days ago by volunteers from the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders. "Usually parents of young children and older people come here," one staff member says. On this day alone, there have already been three emergency cases of people with high blood pressure.

Apart from the first-aid tent, there is also a booth with drinking water and a toilet, which is nowhere near sufficient for travelers. Most people in line end up going behind the bushes at the edge of the road. "We do understand that it is inconvenient for the people," Oleg Slobodyan, spokesman for the state border guard service of Ukraine tells DW, adding: "But you have to understand that this is not really a border and no suitable infrastructure is available."

Electronic IDs to fight fraud

Documents and luggage are inspected, just like at a real border. A visa is not required, but the Ukrainian side asks for type of entry permit. Applicants must explain where they want to go and why they want to enter separatist territory - or the other way around. Until recently, the permits were on paper. On July 7, the Security Service of Ukraine introduced electronic cards. "The most important thing is that there is less corruption," Slobodyan says. No one can prove that this is true. However, the paper permits had indeed become a black market ware.

The lines at the crossing have not shrunk. According to official statements, up to 700 automobiles and more than 2,000 people pass the crossing point every day. Residents of the separatist area travel to the regions controlled by the government in Kyiv to obtain their pension payments and buy cheaper groceries. Food and medication are up to three times cheaper in the rest of the country than in the self-proclaimed peoples' republics.

Ukrainian authorities have promised better facilities for the crossing points in the future. Furthermore, new grocery stores and pharmacies are to open in the "border region" and ATMs will be set up.

It is unclear whether public transport such as buses will soon be traveling across the invisible border. Right now people depend on rides with others, which is becoming a lucrative business for private car owners. A quick drive over the crossing point costs the equivalent of 10 euros ($11), which is almost the price of a train ticket for a cross-country journey in Ukraine. Many curse the situation; others accept the stress and the high prices. For over a year, a million Ukrainians have been essentially living under war conditions. Most people are just glad that the shooting has subsided.