'The Next Stalingrad' Awaits in Ukraine

DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military is tightening the noose around the separatist strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, effectively splitting their territory in two and cutting off their lifeline to Russia.

Friday’s National Security and Defense Council map of the government’s progress inside its “anti-terrorist operation” zone shows forces closing in from all sides. The swath of land once controlled by separatists has been reduced by nearly 75%, severely limiting the area in which they operate.

That has the Russian-backed insurgents working to fortify what little land they still hold sway over in the industrial regions — strategically important because they make up nearly 15% of Ukraine’s population and gross domestic product. Read more...

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