The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko follow Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade on the "road of life" between the front-line cities of Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka. As Kostiantynivka risks being engulfed by the expanding gray zone, the road to the city forms the backbone of the so-called "fortress belt" of Donbas, connecting it to the rest of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk Oblast. Kostiantynivka is the first of the four "fortress belt" cities to see Russian soldiers reach its