There's 'a major, multi-front escalation' happening in Ukraine
A series of separatist offenses throughout the east of the country has rattled the Minsk II accords and promises another bloody summer in the country, Michael Weiss writes for The Daily Beast.
The surprise assault by the Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists targeted two major Ukrainian towns outside of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. In addition, heavy shelling also hit Ukrainian military positions to the north of the city as well as the south along a major tactical highway currently in Kiev's hands.
"Although we're still assessing details, this is clearly a major, multi-front escalation that reflects continued non-compliance with Minsk by the combined Russian-separatist forces," an anonymous Western diplomat told the Beast.
The majority of the shelling hit the towns of Marinka and Krasnogorovka to the west of Donetsk. However, one of the most ominous targets of the separatist offensive was the targeting of Ukrainian troops in Beryozovoye along the Donetsk-Mariupol highway as well as separatist incursions further south towards Mariupol.
These combined offensives, according to Weiss, could play into a larger tactical strategy on the part of Russia to surround Mariupol. Mariupol is a major Ukrainian port that, if taken by the separatists, could function as a land-bridge connecting Russia proper to Crimea.
"Should Marinka fall and the Russians succeed in pushing the Ukrainians back from the northern stretch of the Donetsk-Mariupol highway, they'd likely next make a push for Volnovakha, a town that Kiev's army needs to keep if it wants to maintain control of Mariupol," Weiss notes.
This sudden uptick in fighting is threatening to reignite a wider war throughout eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has warned that the hostilities pose a "colossal threat" and could lead back to "large-scale" fighting.
The EU has likewise warned that the rebel attacks could cause "new spiral of violence and suffering."
Ukraine claims that five soldiers died and an additional 39 were wounded in the fighting, with the majority of the casualties occuring around Marinka.