KRASNOPILLIA, Ukraine -- After sundown one day early this month, a small bus arrived at the military checkpoint on a snow-covered road in the province of Sumy, in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Fifteen passengers, all clad in winter garb and clutching their belongings, emerged haggard-looking.
It was about 6 kilometers from the only open border crossing between Russia and Ukraine, the closest reporters are allowed to the Russian border. Despite a bone-chilling winter and as their country's counteroffensive to recapture territory bogs down, Ukrainian citizens continue to make their way from Russian-occupied territories.
