Donbas: Why Russia is trying to encircle Ukraine's east
What would Vladimir Putin need before he could claim success in his goal of “liberating” Ukraine’s old industrial heart and is that possible?
Ukraine’s best-trained forces were already posted in the east because of an eight-year war with Russian-backed separatists. They are thought to have suffered heavy losses, but are still a significant challenge to Russia’s invading army.
Russian forces have already triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in the east, but are still not in control of the port city of Mariupol. Ukraine’s president has said “we will fight for every metre of our land” and Russia’s new offensive could herald a protracted conflict.
What is Ukraine’s Donbas?
When President Putin talks of Donbas, he is referring to Ukraine’s old coal and steel-producing area. What he really means is the entirety of two big eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk, which run from outside Mariupol in the south all the way to the northern border.