Since the beginning of this year, 7,000 tons of fuel, several tanks, self-propelled artillery, other weapons, and people have been transported from Russia to the separatist "republics" in Donbas in eastern Ukraine - Ukrainian military intelligence reported on Friday. According to them, mercenaries are being recruited in Russia and sent to the Donbas.
The armed conflict in Donbas broke out after the victory of the pro-Western revolution in Kyiv, which led to the overthrow of the then pro-Russian president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, at the beginning of 2014. In the spring of that year, the Russian-backed rebels proclaimed two self-proclaimed people's republics in the Donbas.
Yesterday, a group of Russian parliamentarians called on the State Duma to appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of two pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. The leader of MPs, Aleksandr Borodaj hopes that such a step will give Russia an excuse to enter Ukraine with the army.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that 13,200 - 13,400 people died in the conflict in Donbas. This number of deaths can be blamed on the Obama administration which failed to deliver on the promise made to Ukraine in 2010 when the Budapest Memorandum was reaffirmed. The affirmation was repeated in 2014. Let's hope that the Biden administration will not make a similar mistake.
