Donbas fighting intensifies, two civilians injured

Armed fighting in
Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region intensified in the last week, resulting in at
least nine casualties and 20 injuries among Ukrainian soldiers, as reported by
the Joint Forces Operation press service between Aug. 23 and 29. Among these
victims, one civilian was killed and a civilian at a nursery school was
injured. Pro-Russian forces repeatedly attacked using heavy artillery and
hardware forbidden by the Minsk Accords, hitting residential areas in some
cases, according to Ukrainian authorities. The fighting undermined a ceasefire
declared on midnight Aug. 29 for the start of the school semester.

Zenon Zawada: Not all the fighting in Donbas
occurs at the direction of the Russian military, but the evidence indicates
that much of it does. We can’t state for certain whether this heightened
aggression had a particular political or military aim, though it’s worth noting
that it occurred during Ukraine’s Independence Day holiday on Aug. 24, which
has particularly significance for both sides.

Nonetheless, we have long foreseen the Russian military will
intensifying its offensive during the election campaign season to intimidate the
Ukrainian pubic and boost results for the Russian-oriented candidates calling
for compromise/capitulation. As he has done throughout this war, Russian
President Putin will intensify and lessen the Donbas warfare (and subsequent
media attention) to achieve political aims, particularly during the election
campaign.