While the world’s attention has gravitated to the conflicts in Syria and the crisis in the Mediterranean, the frozen conflict in Eastern Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists is still a constant struggle for a peaceful resolution. Since the outbreak of fighting in 2013, and despite two ceasefire agreements in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the conflict has slowed considerably but is now locked in an unpromising stalemate.

As the war enters its 31st month, the death toll rises to over 10 000 people – 3 000 of which are civilians – and those injured number just over 22 000, according to The Huffington Post. VICE News reports that ceasefire violations are close to 400 per day. During an interview with a Ukrainian special forces soldier, he stopped to say, “Now, listen. You can hear the Minsk peace agreement,” as gunfire and mortars rang out from the not too distant front line.

The Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring group is present in the conflict zone to uphold the ceasefire, yet every evening they leave at 5pm and the fighting begins again. Shelling, mortars, gunfire, sniper fire and in some cases, even tanks are being blindly sprayed back and forth across the front lines throughout the night with little achievement. Both sides have become so entrenched in their positions that they prefer not to risk their soldier’s lives for very marginal gains. The constant back and forth is unlikely to subside either, with it being extremely improbable that the Russian rebels will escalate their offensive, as the Kremlin is still adamantly denying its involvement. The conflict has become more of an inconvenience than a nationalist, emotionally fuelled war.

The open support from the West and NATO has been recently stepped up, however, with a $500 million military aid package scheduled to arrive next year.

According to Reuters, the U.S. is helping Ukraine repair and build its navy to counter Russian presence in Crimea. Similarly, the Canadians are currently training Ukrainian troops on anti-Russian tactics in the west of the country, the largest Canadian military deployment since the Iraq War.

The devastating effect of the conflict on the civilian population, however, is the most worrying concern. Despite recorded casualties being significantly less than previous years, an estimated 1.7 million have fled their homes. These people have been classified by the United Nations as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) rather than refugees that cross international borders. There are an estimated 3.1 million people in total needing humanitarian assistance and the number of IDPs is larger than the number of Syrian refugees currently residing in the EU, according to the UN.

As the world loses interest, the international funding begins to dry up. The World Food Programme is facing a $23.3 million funding shortfall in the lead up to this December, and the number of civilians it can provide for has dropped to 100 000 from a previous 280 000. The conflict is showing little signs of slowing, yet at the same time, unlikely prospects for resolution. Meanwhile, close to 2 million people cannot return to their homes and those that remain risk being killed by indiscriminate mortar fire during the night. With little advancements from either side, it is improbable that either belligerent will submit to the tediousness of the war, and it is becoming more and more unlikely that it will be resolved promptly and peacefully. As this continues, the world will again find another issue to captivate it, until that too, becomes as exhausted as the situation in Ukraine.