Towns in eastern Ukraine fear they will be Russia’s next target

FEAR IS COURSING through the small towns of eastern Ukraine after the fall of the strategic redoubt of Avdiivka on February 17th. Pokrovsk, a hardscrabble mining spot 45km north-west of Avdiivka (see map), is now crammed with soldiers, many of whom have just retreated from the fallen town. Russian attacks in the hours after the retreat are said to have killed five people in three other eastern towns. Even though these places are set back from the front, the sound of artillery in all of them is clear. It never lets up for long.