Donbas civilians harmed in 2M17 doubled from prior two months

Civilians killed and wounded in the Donbas war in the January-February period reached double that of November-December, the pravda.com.ua news site reported on March 4, citing a United Nations report produced by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. There were 20 deaths and 91 injuries in January-February compared to 51 total victims in the prior two months, the report said. The majority of the harmed civilians were the victims of shootings from tanks, artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, which also damaged residential buildings, utilities, schools and medical institutions. More than 2,000 civilians were killed and 6,000-7,000 injured since the war erupted in April 2014, the report said, adding that the number of victims could be greater.

Zenon Zawada: Without a doubt, the military aggression of Russian-backed forces intensified in the last two months. An attempt by the Russian leadership to pressure newly inaugurated U.S. President Trump in negotiations could be one of numerous factors. The escalation could also be related to tactical measures, as well as the Russian-backed forces seeing the need to respond to the trade blockade intensified by MPs and paramilitaries in February. Unfortunately, there’s no light at the end of this tunnel at this point and little means of gauging future military aggression, except that it’s likely to continue.