Washington Post/AFP
Ukraine has laid siege to the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. -Washington Post. Ukrainian troops are currently battling in Horlivka, and if they win they will control all entrances to the city. Heavy fighting is occurring in the area and the Ukrainian forces are dealing with traps and sabotage. Meanwhile border tensions are increasing with Russia. Both sides accuse each other of cross border shelling. Russia has 15,000 troops based on the border and are rumored to be delivering heavy artillery rockets to the rebels.
My Comment:
Big news if it is true. I doubt it will be a true assault. Donetsk is a rather large city with about 1 million people, with even more people in the towns and villages around it, so if they assault it they will be in for brutal urban combat. Of course, if they try to starve and shell them out through siege warfare they will face repercussions. Putin may actually attack if there is a city of 1 million people starving to death. And international opinion may shift. Either way it's do or die time for the Ukrainians. If they manage to win, only Luhansk will remain.
As for Putin, this is bad news for him. He needs Donetsk to hold out until winter. Once winter hits he can cut off Ukraine's natural gas supplies and bring them to the negotiating table. If Donetsk falls Luhansk will probably go as well, and the Ukrainian civil war will stop being a conventional war and will degrade into terrorism and insurgency. That's bad for everyone, including Putin. Either way, I don't see much chance for peace in the region for some time.
Also AFP has a great picture of a separatist next to a destroyed Ukrainian tank. Tell me that guy hasn't seen hell. Hat tip to warnewsupdates since I saw it there first.
kyivpost/AFP
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