Four Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donbas fighting

Four Ukrainian soldiers were shot and killed in armed
fighting in the war-torn Donbas region on Aug. 6, the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry’s press service reported the same day. Starting after midnight and
throughout the morning, Russian-backed fighters targeted Ukrainian soldiers
with fire from tanks, grenade launchers, high-caliber machine guns, and rifles
near the villages of Bohdanivka and Pavlopil along the western separation line
in the Donetsk region. It was fire from anti-tank grenade launchers that killed
the soldiers near Pavlopil. A harvest ceasefire had been declared on July 21,
resulting in no civilian casualties and fewer wounded soldiers, the OSCE reported.

In response to the killings, Ukrainian President
Zelensky called for the Normandy Four leaders (Putin, Merkel, Macron) to meet
as soon as possible to renew peace talks. “Today’s incident was aimed at undermining
not only this ceasefire, but the negotiating process as a whole,” Zelensky said
in a statement. “Ukraine sincerely wants peace, and our striving hasn’t
changed. Today the whole world saw just who doesn’t want peace.” As his
response, U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker tweeted that he is
“extremely disappointed with new ceasefire violations.” He added, “Especially
at a time when the new Ukrainian President is making gestures for peace.”

Zenon Zawada: Not only is
the Russian leadership not impressed with Ukraine’s new president, but it is
convinced that it can use pressure to make Zelensky concede to its geopolitical
demands. By extending the killing, the Russian military is also making Zelensky
liable for the war in Donbas, which furthers its propaganda as tarring anyone
fully compliant with its geopolitical position as a war-mongerer, enemy of the
Russian world and agent of Washington.

These events merely confirm our consistent position
that Zelensky will have to eventually choose between fully allying with the
West and extending the war, or capitulating to Russian demands and ending the
warfare. This is Russia’s strategy. We can’t predict what decision Zelensky
will make, but he will lose a large portion of his electorate in either choice,
as well as gain a new set of enemies.