Alexander J. Motyl: Ukraine’s united future depends on leaving Donbas in its divided past
An armed pro-Russian separatist of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) stands in front of the destroyed Donetsk International Airport, in Donetsk, on June 1, 2016.
Before Ukraine can disengage from the occupied Donbas, it has to know just what disengagement means. Consider disengagement's opposite - engagement. If we are engaged, we are psychologically concerned about, ideologically committed to, and politically involved in some issue. Disengagement entails psychological indifference, ideological withdrawal, and political non-involvement with respect to that issue.
