The fight for the Donbas: Why eastern Ukraine is now at the center of Russia’s war

ON THE ROAD TO KYIV, Ukraine – For weeks, Ukraine and its Western allies have been waiting for the promised Russian attack in Donbas – an eastern region of the country bordering Russia – after Moscow’s hasty retreat from around the capital Kyiv.

Now, that attack has begun.

With troops massing for a major ground offensive, airstrikes bombarding cities and Ukrainian forces bracing for what could be a series of decisive battles, many wonder. Hopefully this Russian attack will be better equipped and organized than the first failed phase of the war.

So why is there? Russian President Putin has refocused military efforts on this area of ​​eastern Ukraine, and what should we expect in the days and weeks ahead? NBC News take a look.

From Industry to Invasion

Simply put, the region is territorial and ideologically significant, and gaining interest there could give the Kremlin some form of victory after struggling to achieve its goals. in the beginning of the war.

Valeriy Akimenko, a senior research associate at the Center for the Study of Conflict, said that Russia considers the land valuable and is “like historically Russia, a “gift” to Ukraine in its time. Soviet period.”

It is also part of the ‘Russian World’ concept that Moscow wants to build.

The region, roughly twice the size of Belgium, is an industrial power filled with coal and precious metals and processing centers and strategically important ports on the Sea of ​​Azov, halfway between Russia and Crimea. and Ukraine.

Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. According to the United Nations, the conflict lasted eight years and left about 14,000 people dead, until Russia invaded its neighbor nearly two months ago.

That move comes after Putin recognized the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic”. They are named after the two main regions that together make up the Donbas.

“Technically, the purpose of the Russian ‘operation’ is to ‘defend Donbas’, one of the stories advertised. [by the Kremlin],” said Akimenko. “Therefore, capturing the Donbas will allow Russia to declare success [and] declared ‘victory’, temporarily as that could be because Russia has clearly larger ambitions. “

Putin initially appeared amid the overthrow of the Western-leaning government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and re-establishing the Kremlin’s influence over the neighboring country with a sweeping military campaign.

But with growing casualties and Western sanctions taking a toll on his economy, the so-called “liberation” of Donbas could prove appealing – especially if it comes right on War Day. Russia’s annual victory on May 9.

While all eyes are on Kyiv, Ukrainian forces have long fought to defend eastern Ukraine.

It is a site of some of the bloodiest battles of the past eight weeks, from towns near Kharkiv in the north to Mariupol in the south, where Ukrainian forces are fighting desperately to stay afloat. a foothold in the besieged important port city.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here