Briefing

There is no end in sight for the conflict in Ukraine.

Following the official breakdown of a ceasefire that never really took hold in the first place, fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine over the past month. Rebels finally managed to take the airport in Donetsk two weeks ago, the site of bitter, close-combat fighting that had been raging on and off since May 2014. Mariupol was also targeted by rebels in recent rocket attacks. The city’s port would provide an important economic and logistical lifeline to separatist forces should they take and hold it. There is also renewed fighting in Debaltseve, a crucial rail hub where hundreds of Ukrainian troops are said to be surrounded on all sides by rebel forces.