News & Comment

Short of sitting outside the shops and matching footfall with what they claim to have as revenue, it’s hard for the authorities to identify [criminal enterprises], and it’s relatively easy for a business to claim they’re legitimate – they just knock up some invoices and ledgers...Another way these stores are used is by being refitted frequently. They operate for a few months, close down, have a complete refurbishment and open again – that’s the way crime proceeds can be laundered, through inflated costs. You have a builder who is part of the [criminal] network."

Natia Seskuria, associate international security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained that the area is important for the Ukrainians to keep and the Russians to take because of its strategic position. "Situated at a major road and rail intersection in Donetsk Oblast, Pokrovsk has functioned as a central artery for moving troops, equipment, and supplies to Ukrainian units deployed along the surrounding front." Russia "would gain a platform to redirect its offensive efforts toward Ukraine's principal defensive urban centres... including Kramatorsk and Slovyansk," Seskuria said.

It looks like an attempt by Trump to score a quick diplomatic win rather than a strategy for durable peace...In its current form, the plan is a non-starter for Ukraine: it would compel Kyiv to accept major losses without credible security guarantees, while allowing Russia to advance its longstanding goal of seizing the Donbas region it does not yet fully control.”