The Politics of (Im)mobility: The Effects of the Pandemic on Movement Across the ‘Contact Line’ in Eastern Ukraine

Abstract

In March 2020, the ‘contact line’ between the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the rest of Ukraine was sealed off. Crossing this de facto border was a precondition and an obstacle for residents of the non-government-controlled territories to access their citizenship entitlements. This article explores how movement across the ‘contact line’ was restricted and reconfigured during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this affected state–citizen relations in the region. The study reveals how the policy to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus became a tool in establishing and maintaining authority along the state margins.