A statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin looms over a square in Donetsk in the east of Ukraine, a country stuck in limbo between Russia and the European Union.
Ukraine has been convulsed by anti-government protests that have exposed a divide in the nation, with many in the west seeking to join the European mainstream, while others, mainly in the east, look to Moscow as a guarantor of stability.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
A woman in traditional dress sells souvenirs in Lviv, a western Ukrainian city whose baroque and neo-classical architecture gives it the air of a central European capital.
Many from the city have joined protests after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich rejected a deal with the EU in favour of seeking stronger ties with Russia.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Alexander Skozobtsov, a driver and former mining engineer, lives in a suburb of Donetsk, a gritty industrial city in the east of Ukraine.
The city is a power base for Yanukovich, and here cultural, linguistic and economic ties with Russia run deep.
Skozobtsov would like to see his country have a closer relationship with its old Soviet ruler. "I fully support the idea of everything turning backwards, to have the Soviet Union back, to have really a powerful unity," he said.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Doctor Volodymyr Semeniv lives in Lviv, and feels very differently. He has taken to the streets to join pro-European integration protests.
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. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Snow settles on rooftops in the western Ukranian city of Lviv.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
A woman walks past a building adorned with a European Union flag.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Local residents sit on a bus in the western Ukranian city of Lviv.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Doctor Volodymyr Semeniv takes part in a pro-European integration rally in the western Ukranian city.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Customers pose for a picture in a nationalist-themed restaurant in Lviv.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
A waiter in traditional dress serves customers in a cafe.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Doctor Volodymyr Semeniv crosses himself during a visit to an Orthodox Church in Lviv.
. LVIV, Ukraine. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
Semeniv watches television in his flat.
Berlin, Ukraine. REUTERS/Handout via Reuters
In a photograph taken while he was on holiday, Semeniv stands in front of the Reichstag in Berlin.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Alexander Skozobtsov, from east Ukraine, stands in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in central Moscow, in a photograph taken about five years ago.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Skozobtsov looks through holiday photographs in his home, which is in a suburb of the eastern Ukranian city of Donetsk.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Skozobtsov stands near a statue of Lenin in the suburb.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A woman sells winter accessories at a street stall in the eastern Ukranian city.
. DONETSK, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
A woman walks past a shop offering shoes "at USSR prices" in the suburb of Makeyevka.