Munk Senior Fellow Christian Leuprecht spoke with CBC News about recent Russian gains in Luhansk and the strategic significance of the region for Russia.
“It shows that when Russia concentrates its forces to a force of mass and scale, and when it’s close to its own supply lines, that is to say its train links, then Russia can make progress. I think we will continue to see this slow-burn effort by Russia over the coming weeks,” said Leuprecht.
“The end is going to look somewhat like the Korean peninsula: a demilitarized zone that is really in effect going to be a heavily militarized zone where fighting could break out again anytime,” added Leuprecht. “The question is: are the Ukrainians going to be able to determine, in their own sovereign capability, when to have a ceasefire with the Russians? Or are the Ukrainians going to be pushed into a peace deal in particular by more reluctant NATO members … which would very much like to see some sort of ceasefire at largely whatever cost it takes?”
