Platform of tears near the front line

Ukrainian serviceman Vladyslav, 24, saying goodbye to his spouse Anastasiya, 24, and his child before they board a train heading to Kyiv — AFP

WITH a bunch of roses in his hand, Yuriy quickly climbs aboard the train to embrace his wife. She has come from Kyiv to Kramatorsk, near Ukraine’s front line.

On Platform 4 at Kramatorsk station – the end of the line for Train 712 – the 56-year-old soldier and his wife Vira, 49, walk in an embrace like two young lovebirds.