William Hayeden Dietz ~ News Editor
On April 19, 2022, Ukrainian and American sources have both reported the beginning
of a Russian offensive in Donbass against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has called this new stage of the war the Battle for the Donbas,
a hotly contested region between Russia and Ukraine where Russia has at the beginning of the war recognized the breakaway Donbass People’s Republic.
This new offensive has come after a lull in the fighting for the past few weeks, with a
Russian withdrawal from the countryside around Kyiv after a failure to encircle or capture it.
Ukrainian president Zelensky has noted that Russian airstrikes have begun once again,
even against Western Ukrainian cities closer to Poland than Russia live Lviv.
The Luhansk governor has reported that Ukraine has lost the town of Kreminna. The
United States has noted that after the limited territorial gains of the first wave of the Russian
invasion, Russia has begun to focus on smaller regions where more forces can be massed for an attack, after a huge buildup in supplies and forces in the region.
Negotiations so far have stalled, mostly due to the ongoing siege of Mariupol and both
sides refusal to accept the other terms.
NATO has also announced more military aid to Ukraine, heavy weapons and aircraft
were due to arrive shortly before the offensive Russia had just started.
The United States intelligence believes that Russia’s attack is not yet at its full strength
and this is only the beginning. Much of the territory, if captured, would leave other sectors of the Ukrainian frontline dangerously overextended, which could prompt a further retreat inland.
If either side is inflicted a major defeat, it could be more likely for them to come to terms
with the demands of the other.
Still, neither side is likely to concede territory yet, and as of now that would be the terms of both sides to each other, with Russia demanding a recognition of
Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, and Ukraine being unwilling to accept the loss of so much
territory. Student Justin Kachornvanich stated his disbelief that the war had continued so long.
Isiaiah Harrison, another student, stated he wondered what the casualties are like, as both
sides have stopped reporting them at least in April.
Information retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2022/04/19/1093530974/russia-ukraine-war-what-happened-today-april-19.
