Donbas fighting escalates as Zelensky and Biden meet

The city of Avdiivka in south-eastern Ukraine was shelled
by Russian-led forces on Aug. 28. Ukraine’s general military HQ reports that
weapons forbidden by the Minsk agreement, namely 122-mm artillery, were used,
pravda.com.ua reported on the same day. The city’s infrastructure was damaged,
and rail transport through the city has been temporarily halted. No civilians
were injured, but three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded.

The shelling comes as President of Ukraine Volodymyr
Zelensky prepares to meet U.S. President in Washington. The meeting at the White
House was postponed for a second time due to events in Afghanistan. The meeting
will now take place on Sept. 1, whitehouse.gov reports.

James Hydzik: The rise in fighting in Donbas is seen by observers in Ukraine as one
way in which the Kremlin will try, if not to disrupt, then at least to shift
the focus of the meeting between the presidents. As such, the probability of
other attention-getting events, such as large-scale hacking attacks, remains
high in the short term. However, with Zelensky and Biden able to meet in an
emergency, the likelihood of a major confrontation in Donbas at this time is
low.