Isolated Ukrainian separatists 'shaken' after failing to take control of airport

Isolated Ukrainian separatists &#039;shaken&#039; after failing to take control of airport

(Image credit: Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Months into Ukraine's political crisis, rebels appear to be shaken and isolated, The New York Times reports. Though separatists attempted to take control of the airport in Donetsk Monday afternoon, Ukrainian forces appeared to oust the fighters by evening.

The seizure of the airport suggests a potentially desperate escalation by militants just one day after European ally Petro Poroshenko won the Ukrainian presidential elections in a landslide. Poroshenko promises to calm fighting in the eastern part of the country and if Kremlin support wanes, the militants are unlikely to maintain purchase in the volatile region. Rebels have been forced to appeal to Russian President Putin for any kind of military or economic aid. --Lauren Hansen

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.