18/06/2021
Russia’s undeclared war in Ukraine’s Donbas region, a toxic mix of civil war and Russian intervention, has been an especially intractable problem for the international community. Unlike the annexation of Crimea, this was not about the territory in question, but simply as a Russian means of bringing Kyiv to heel.
This failed. If anything, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, helped accelerate the formation of a true Ukrainian national identity, transcending old political, regional, historical and linguistic divisions. Nonetheless, when it looked as though government forces were gaining the upper hand against the ragtag array of thugs, mercenaries, ‘patriots’ and adventurists on the ground, Putin surged in Russian troops, just enough to turn the tide.
Dr Mark Galeotti argues that the time has come for the United Kingdom to declare that the Minsk Accords are dead
