CHERTKOVO, Russia/ MELOVE, Ukraine — On the map, Chertkovo and Melove is one village, crossed by railroad tracks and a main road called the Friendship of Peoples Street. That slogan still rings true for many locals, but is being sorely tested by the animosity between their two nations, Russia and Ukraine.
On the streets, villagers speak a mix of Russian and Ukrainian without turning the choice of language into a political statement as many others did elsewhere, fueling the conflict between Ukraine and Russia since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.