Though overshadowed by the war in Syria , fighting in eastern Ukraine has picked up sharply in recent weeks, residents along the front line, commanders and European monitors say. The resumption of hostilities in Ukraine , with exchanges of machine gun and mortar fire across the front line up to levels not seen since last summer, suggests a willingness by Russia , which supports the rebels in eastern Ukraine, to sustain two conflicts at once. In late September, Russia began airstrikes in Syria on behalf of the government of President Bashar al-Assad. A cease-fire took hold here in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and the government on Sept. 1, which was apparently coordinated with Russia’s […]