For some, Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts evoke images of coal mines, industrial sprawl, and Russian-speaking culture oriented toward Moscow. Yet to accept this as the regions’ defining reality ...

There is also room for negotiation to alter administrative borders in a way that does not require Kiev simply ceding the remainder of unoccupied Russian territory in the four eastern oblasts.

Moscow said on Friday that its forces had seized a handful of settlements in Donetsk since the start of the month.

Details: The Russian military command may decide to leave the Eastern Military District units in western Donetsk Oblast and continue to advance to the administrative border of Donetsk and ...