Russian escalation dampens hopes for peace in Ukraine - Atlantic Council
Russian hybrid forces in eastern Ukraine launched a series of artillery bombardments and localized advances early on February 18, sparking some of the most intense engagements in recent years along the largely static front lines of the conflict. The Ukrainian military reported one soldier killed and four injured in the brief but fierce clashes, which some observers likened to the height of the fighting in summer 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy branded the short-lived offensive an attempt to disrupt the peace process and vowed to press on with his efforts to end the war.
Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are tentatively scheduled to meet in spring 2020 for a fresh round of Normandy Format talks. However, with fundamental differences between the two leaders over the implementation of the 2015 Minsk Accords, it remains unclear whether there is sufficient common ground to warrant a summit. Indeed, this latest spike in hostilities has served to underline the failure of the ceasefire agreement reached during the last Normandy Format meeting in December 2019. How will Russia’s February 18 military escalation affect the prospects for peace in Ukraine?
Michael Carpenter, Managing Director, Penn Biden Center: The key thing to remember about this latest offensive is that it’s not the work of some sort of mythical “spoilers.†This happened as a result of Russian officers directing their proxy forces to attack Ukrainian positions. It underscores that Putin can’t be trusted with any sort of road map for peace until he implements the very first and most important point of the Minsk protocols: a ceasefire. One command from Putin would stop this aggression instantly, and it’s very telling that after six years of war this command has never been given.
Read more at: https://atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russian-escalation-dampens-hopes-for-peace-in-ukraine/
Penn Biden Center, yes, there really is a place and it's not hard to see who is involved.
https://twitter.com/PennBidenhttps://global.upenn.edu/penn-biden-centerWSJ has an article on "Russian hit squads in Germany" today, that sure sounds like it'd be curious to read. I don't have a subscription, I'm waiting for the story to filter out in other forms.
