It seems like eastern Ukraine is half-way through a game of chess , writes CNN 's Tim Lister . Throughout an extensive tour of the Slovyansk area , the crump of artillery and boom of tankfire sounded periodically . Lister : The separatists have been trying to seize control of the strategic port city of Mariupol for months now and are holding out in some areas despite being surrounded by Ukrainian forces. The intentions of either side in this scattered war of attrition are hard to work out , he says . Lister : Creating security seems a long way off , writes Lister .
It seems like eastern Ukraine is half-way through a game of chess , writes CNN 's Tim Lister . Lister : The separatists have been trying to seize control of the strategic port city of Mariupol for months now and are holding out in some areas despite being surrounded by Ukrainian forces. The intentions of either side in this scattered war of attrition are hard to work out , he says . Lister : Creating security seems a long way off , writes Lister .