On patrol in eastern Ukraine

A Ukrainian commando unit heads back to base after a mopping-up raid in Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

July 15, 2014 1:30 PM PT

Former protesters have joined forces with the same riot police who once opened fire on them, becoming unlikely comrades in arms in the Ukrainian national guard against a common enemy: separatists who want to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

For three months, the Ukrainian fighters had tried to dislodge separatists in Slovyansk. In early July, more than 1,000 insurgents and Russian mercenaries retreated, leaving most of their military hardware behind. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

A Ukraine commando kicks in a door in Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

A Ukraine national guard MI-8 helicopter sits in the fields near Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

Ukrainian national guardsmen take a break at their base near Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

Fighters with Ukraine’s national guard get cleaned up at their base near Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

At a base near Slovyansk, a member of the Ukrainian national guard looks at an assortment of Russian-made weapons including portable antiaircraft missiles seized from retreating pro-Russia rebels. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)

The crew of a Ukrainian national guard armored personnel carrier takes a rest in a sunflower field near Slovyansk. (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)