Fighting for position
An escalation in violence may mean Russia wants to renegotiate the terms of a stalled peace process
AS COLUMNS of soldiers marched through the centre of Kiev to mark 25 years of Ukrainian independence this week, Larissa Nikitina could not help but think about the price of sovereignty. Some 9,500 Ukrainians have been killed in fighting in the country’s east since early 2014, and there are more casualties every week. “We fought for this holiday, we are fighting for it, and we will have to keep fighting for it,” she said. Tensions have flared around Crimea and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and many worry that another round of fighting is on the horizon.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Fighting for position”
From the August 27th 2016 edition
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