Surkov will continue handling the Donbas war, Kremlin says

Vladislav Surkov, who was reappointed on June 13 as
advisor to Russian President Putin, will continue to handle the war in Donbas,
Russian Presidential Administration Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on
June 14, as reported by Interfax. Since 2016, Surkov has served as Putin’s
adviser on the Donbas war, participating in Normandy Format talks and
representing Russia at various meetings involving Ukraine, reported the
pravda.com.ua news site. Surkov was directly involved for the actions of the
pro-Russian terrorists in 2014, former terrorist leader Igor Girkin said that
year. He has been handling Ukraine issues for the Kremlin since 2004.

Zenon Zawada: Surkov’s continuation in handling the Donbas war means that Putin is
entirely satisfied with the way the conflict is playing itself out. It also
means that the current tactics being employed will continue to be applied. That
means that tactics such as destabilizing the 2019 Ukrainian elections, expanded
military aggression, sabotage, terrorism, and provocations based on ethnicity,
religion and language remain on the table. We see these methods as likely of
being applied this year.