Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous dens to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online goes ringside in Kyiv, where soldiers face off in bare-knuckle fights under the watchful eyes of punters and underworld figures.
The location is only made known a few hours before the fighting begins. For the most secretive evenings, it comes at the last minute, via text message, to a select group of insiders. On the inside, there are no ropes or corners: the ring is a circular enclosure marked out by bags filled with sawdust. Regulars call it the mishkohon, a portmanteau derived from mishok, the Ukrainian word for "sack". The term evokes both a livestock pen and the octagon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Inherited
