Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Anders Aslund: Here’s why Moscow doesn’t want the Donbas but continues to meddle there anyway
Ukrainian servicemen clean a SPG-9 antitank grenade launcher at the frontline near Avdeevka, Donetsk Oblast, on June 18.
The war in the Donbas is imposing large costs on Ukraine. According to Ukraine's leading investment bank Dragon Capital, in October 2014 the occupied territories in the Donbas accounted for 2.6 percent of Ukraine's territory, 7.3 percent of the population, 10 percent of GDP, and 15 percent of industrial production. This output has declined by roughly two-thirds, explaining two-thirds of Ukraine's decline in GDP in 2014. What will happen to the Donbas economy if the Minsk II ceasefire agreement collapses?
