Putin Tightens His Grip in Europe’s Neglected War Zone
The conflict in eastern Ukraine is frozen in time and that means there’s only one winner.
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As world leaders commemorate a century since the war that was supposed to end all wars, a conflict on Europe’s eastern periphery is getting more deeply entrenched.
The breakaway region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine will hold elections on Sunday, the same day as the World War I Armistice event in Paris. Separatists backed by Russia are seeking to legitimize—and normalize—their control of two self-declared republics, Donetsk and Luhansk, after four years of fighting. The U.S. has called the votes “phony.” Russia has called them a necessity.