Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Adrian Karatnycky: Making the most of Minsk
Pro-Russian seperatists take positions on the side of the road near the eastern Ukrainian city of Uglegorsk, 6 kms southwest of Debaltseve, on Feb. 19, 2015.
With a major battle around the rail hub of Debaltseve ending with the withdrawal of Ukrainian government forces, it looks like the tenuous truce in eastern Ukraine may hold. After violence that has left more than 5,600 dead and displaced about 1.6 million people, world leaders hope the cease-fire can be sustained and Ukraine can start to rebuild - even though the Minsk agreement, concluded last week after talks between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, is regarded skeptically by many, including some of its European Union architects.