​Conflict in eastern Ukraine has resulted in more than 6,700 people being killed, 17,000 injured and 1.4 million displaced by July 2015.

International assistance has focused on people who have fled eastern Ukraine for government controlled areas, but needs are significantly higher in and around the frontlines in rebel-held Donetsk and Luhansk.

This IRIN/HPG Crisis Brief looks at how a Ukrainian oligarch, local organisations and Russian aid are providing a lifeline in eastern Ukraine. But much of the aid response has been highly contested, with armed groups on different sides seeking to block aid, claiming it may be serving to support military aims.

Christina Bennett and Kristina Jovanovski