Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
David Marples: Putin’s dwindling options in Ukraine
Guards of the self-proclaimed \"Donetsk People's Republic\" keep watchs in the town hall of the besieged Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on June 24, 2014. Ukraine's new Western-backed president said on June 24 he may revoke his one-week unilateral ceasefire to allow government forces to retaliate for the downing by pro-Russian rebels of an army helicopter that killed nine servicemen.
Vladimir Putin’s options in Ukraine appear to be diminishing as the war in the Donbas continues, despite an official ceasefire initiated on June 20 by Ukraine’s new president, Petro Poroshenko. After almost four months of conflict, which began on March 1, when Russian forces occupied Crimea, the impetus for further dramatic changes in revising territorial boundaries in Ukraine has slowed notably.
