At the top of the agenda during last week's NATO Summit in Warsaw was Russian aggression against the West. In response to the ongoing conflict between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, NATO reiterated their support of Ukraine's fight against Russian advancement in the east, and committed to a comprehensive assistance package.

But on the ground, the conflict rages on. Despite a Minsk ceasefire agreement, signed in 2014, and again in 2015, fighting continues to intensify along the contact line.

A recent spike in violence that included heavy shelling, mortaring, and small arms has made the past few months particularly bloody, with casualties becoming an almost daily occurrence. Despite a complete failure to implement any ceasefire, NATO insisted the Minsk agreement was still the way to go.