john hedron reports from donetsk. >> it's a nearly daily ritual. every morning but sunday bruce will make the rounds distributing needles, antibacterial wipes and con domescondoms. donetsk is running out of the drugs that they use to help get people off heroin. >> they reduced doses so quickly that i've had a fever for the past month. even if we can find it we can't afford it. we have no money. there is war. >> ukraine's government has long supplied the drugs for heroin substitution therapy but in separatist territory that up a stopped. they use two drugs in heroin treatment, and as substitutions run out heroin use rises and since heroin users tend to share needles, so will hiv. >> we have less medicine, and we have to reduce doses to make it last longer. patients have to live on minimal doses. some have left the programs to live without substitution therapy. >> already 300 patients in the separatist cities of donetsk and luhansk has lost access to methadone. >> h.i.v. has increased because many people shoot up as well as taking the methadone becau

john hedron reports from the rebel-held donetsk. >> the silence is broken daily by small arms fire and mortars. that's ours, he says. in principle the cease-fire is holding but there is regular small arms fire so complete cease-fire cannot exist. before you arrived here several small shells landed on our side. so we fired back. >>> occasional volleys continue, they found that 6,000 people have died so far. separatists say it is ukrainian forces who are violating the cease-fire. >> the cease-fire is from our side. we're not just trying. we're holding it completely. the ukrainian fire again violates the minsk agreement and starts to open fire. a year into the conflict in eastern ukraine the death toll continues to rise on a landscape transformed by the war. with each passing day the front line continues to shift. in weekend fighting three were killed. few here at the ukrainian front line trenches expect the cease-fire to hold. >> we're strengthening in preparation for the next offensive. we're preparing toe deflect their attack. >> if that happens with operatist troops appearing wanting

john hedron reports from the rebel stronghold of donetsk. >> as the war in eastern ukraine began, so did this woman's cancer. she was diagnosed a second time along with hepatitis-c. but she no longer gets her ukrainian welfare payments for the cancer drug she needs even if she could find it here. >> i don't have money to buy them. in 2009 and 2010 the medicine was provided by the hospital that cured me. in 2014 they no longer have the drug. >> what happens if you don't get the medicine? >> well, i don't know. if you don't treat serious diseases people die. >> she's hardly alone. drugs are hard to find and expensive with high inflation unemployment and no functioning banking system. this man relies on donations for his heart medicine. >> there is no place i can get it. the pharmacy is closed. i have to buy less and the prices are high. >> the international aid group doctors without borders try to help their waiting rooms are crowded with under served, but it's not enough. >> people cannot buy and if they buy, it's expensive. they have to go far away. and another reason there, is no do

john hedron, al jazeera, debaltseve, east ukraine. >> in the u.n. the u.s. spy agency is being sued over its surveillance program by rights groups including wiki media. wiki media amnesty international and other groups say that the nsa put people off from sharing sensitive information with them. the u.s. justice department said that it's reviewing the lawsuit. >> we believe that the up stream surveillance, the mass surveillance of our readers and users are damaging to us. it depends on a culture of openness and courage for people to be able to participate and in that context their privacy is very important. we believe that the nsa's actions are illegal and unconstitutional. >> france is mourning three of its athlete who died along with seven other people when two helicopters collideed in argentina. they were filming a popular reality television show. we have reports from argentina. >> the accident happened at the end of filming in this remote region in the west of argentina. this video capturing the moment that the two helicopters crashed. there were no surv

john hedron went there to find out why. >> in rural indiana they say an hiv epidemic caught them off guard. >> the health department is shocked that this has happened. we have to do something drastic to stop the spread. >> but some locals say this rustic slice of the midwest say it's long been part of the slums. >> i do get threats all the time about going back inside not letting them do their deals on the corner or in front of my house, but you're not going to run drugs in front of my house. this is my home. you want to do it? take it elsewhere. >> confirming five cases of hiv in a year. so far in 2015 it has seen 79 and counting. all have been linked to intervene thousand drug use with users sharing hiv-tainted needles. >> when it was first reported it was 26 cases of hiv. now it's 79 cases of hiv. the governor has said we have an epidemic. and he does have an epidemic. until they have a public house response, it will continue to grow. >> governor mike pens has ordered a needle exchange giving free needles to drug addicts. >> i do not support needle exchange anti-drug policy, but t

john hedron reports from donetsk. >> reporter: it's a nearly daily ritual. every morning but sunday bruce makes the rounds distributing needles, wipes and condoms. since the conflict in eastern ukraine, they are more in need than ever. donetsk is running out of the drugs it uses to get addicts off of heroin. >> they promised to look after us now i've had a fever for the past month. even if we can find t we can't afford it. we have no money. there is a war. >> reporter: ukraine's government has long supplied the drugs for heroin substitution therapy, but in separatist territory that all stopped when the year-long war began. they would use two drugs it ran out of the first drug in january, and without new supplies, which don't appear to be fourth coming it will run out of the second by the end of the month. and heroin substitutes run out the use of heroin rises and since drug users tend to share needles, so does h.i.v. >> patients have to live on minimum doses. some have left the program and have gone on to detoxification to live without substitution therapy.

john hedron, debaltseve, eastern ukraine. >> still to come on the program scientists excited by the discovery of rare fossils in libya. we'll discuss what they tell us. >>> we'll look at international cycling as the sport faces up to its problems with doping. >> studying deadly viruses. >> these facilities are incredibly safe, incredibly secure. >> go inside the study of infectious diseases. >> ventilated footy pajamas. >> protecting those working to protect us. >> we always have to stay one step ahead of them because they're out there. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. only on al jazeera america. >> hello again, a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. the iraqi military bid to push isil out of tikrit is making head way. soldiers are inside the city for the first time in months and after preparing to advance. police in myanmar had been accused of using excessive force during student pr

as al jazeera's john hedron reports from donetsk ukraine's prime minister are accusing the rebels of slowing down the rescue effort. >> reporter: after the blast came the confusion. >> suddenly there was dust everywhere. and people were groaning. there was an explosion. no one knows what condition they are. >> most of the 230 men who entered the mine, some were evacuated. there was a bang, and then it threw me so hard that i flew for three or four meters. immediately the heat, the temperature rose, and here are the consequences, and then the temperature became a little lower and we locally started crawling out. >> the families of those who didn't make it out there was wait worry. >> he was supposed to retire next year. everyone is angry that they say on tv that 32 people died, but nobody tells us anything. >> the deadly blast left ukrainians asking whether politics delayed help for the men trapped underground. they say that the separatist government who controlled the mine denied access for the rescue workers that he sent. >> i gave instructions to send six brigades, each composed of