Russia Attacks Donbas Region in Ukraine
Russia-Ukraine war: 'Battle for Donbas' has begun, says President Zelenskyy.
On 19th April, the Russia-Ukraine war entered its 55th day. The war, which began on 24th February, has displaced about 22 million of Ukraine's 44 million population, destroyed multiple cities, and killed or injured thousands. Russia was desparate to capture Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. Russian troops heavily bombed the city and did its best but they were still unable to fully capture the capital. Now Russia has backed off from Kyiv and has openly said that they have focused its attention on the Donbas region. This seems to be the second phase of the war. This is the Map of Ukraine and here is the Donbas region. The Donbas region comprised two places called Donetsk & Luhansk. These places have been declared as independent countries by Russia and the separatist leaders are on good terms with Russia. However, Ukraine does not want to let go of these areas. This is why there is a severe war going between Ukraine & the Separatist and Russia.
This is because Russia wants to fully control the entire Donbas region. Interestingly, the problem over the Donbas region has been going on since 2014. Russia had already captured the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
If Russia captures the Donbas region, they will be able to enter Ukraine from the Crimean peninsula. On 18th April, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, “Russia has moved most of its army to the Donbas region. The battle for the Donbas region has begun. They had been preparing for a long time. No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves.” Russia has demanded that giving Donbas a self-governing status. This would mean elections will be held and maybe pro-Russian parties will win the election. Thus, Russia would have control over the area. Ukraine has urged Russia to stop the war and for that it has made the following offers:
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Ukraine will not be part of NATO
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Ukraine will get rid of all its nuclear weapons.
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Ukraine will not fight over Crimea.
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Ukraine will discuss the future of the Donbas region.
Despite making these offers, Russia continues to bomb Donbas and other areas of Ukraine. Last week, the US announced an additional $800M in military aid. This includes guns, bombs, missiles —including helicopters, howitzers, and tanks— and also money. Meanwhile, the first consignments of the US's fresh military assistance package arrived at Ukraine's borders on Monday 18 April 2022. Now we will have to wait and see what happens next.
