2021 Donbass Crisis

Ukrainian preparations for attack

See World Cup offensive on Donbass attack preparations in 2018

• Videos of tanks on trains: Dnepropetrovsk, Mariopol, somewhere
• Is the Ukraine on the Brink of War (Again)? - The Saker, Unz Review, March 10, 2021
• They May Try Again. -  Andrei Martyanov, March 11, 2021
• Russian Federation Siterep - Patrick Armstrong, March 11, 2021
• Ukraine seeks to justify its future offensive against the Donbass with a bogus “peace plan” and ultimatum - Donbass Insider, March 11, 2021
• Why The War In Ukraine May Soon Resume - Moon of Alabama, March 13, 2021
• First Biden War? War Clouds Gather over Ukraine - Alexander Mercouris, March 15, 2021 (video)
• "The main condition is the non-interference of Russia." Is the Ukrainian army preparing to attack in Donbass - Alexander Shakhov, Strana.ua, March 15, 2021 (in Russian)
• IF RUSSIA INTERVENES, THE UKRAINIAN ARMY WILL HAVE TO ABANDON ITS OFFENSIVE IN THE DONBASS - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, March 16, 2021
• Ukraine approves strategy to “recover” Crimea, threatening all-out war with Russia - Jason Melanovski, Defend Democracy, 19 March 2021
• Donbass - Ukraine has just prepared the official death certificate of the Minsk Agreements - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, March 30, 2021
• Fighting Escalates in Eastern Ukraine, Signaling the End to Another Cease-Fire - The New York Times, March 30, 2021 (archive)
• Air Mission: April Overview - Nat South, The Saker Blog, May 01, 2021
• Azarov - Zelensky wanted to allow Ukrainian neo-Nazis to attack the DPR and LPR in April - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, June 2, 2021

Russian response

See also Belarusian coup plot

• Who will blink first? Preparations for war are over - Rostislav Ischenko, April 5, 2021
• Are Russia and Ukraine Sliding Into War? - Maxim Samorukov, The Moscow Times, April 6, 2021
• Heavy Shelling Is Being Reported In Ukraine As Russian Television Discusses A Possible “Nuclear Strike” - Michael Snyder, April 6, 2021
• The Dictatorship of Numbers -  Andrei Martyanov, Unz Review, April 7, 2021
• Ukraine redux: war, Russophobia and Pipelineistan - Pepe Escobar, Asia Times, April 7, 2021

  The deep state/NATO combo's using Kiev to start a war to bury Nord Stream 2 and German-Russian relations

• CNN - Ukrainian Trains With Heavy Weapons Going East Are 'Russian Aggression' - Moon of Alabama, April 12, 2021
• Flashpoint Ukraine: Don't Poke the Bear - Interview with Israel Shamir, Unz Review, April 18, 2021
• Russia Increases Its Defense, While U.S. Backs Down From Provoking WWIII - Eric Zuesse, Strategic Culture, April 20, 2021
• Worldwide Chaos Just A Step Away In Eastern Ukraine - SouthFront, April 21, 2021
• Unpacking the Russian Troop Buildup along Ukraine’s Border - CSIS, April 22, 2021

De-escalation

See also Putin's speech, April 21, 2021

• Why Russia may not be planning the invasion that Ukraine fears - BBC News, April 15, 2021

  'Biden blinked'

• Biden and Blinken Blink on Ukraine - Ray McGovern. Antiwar.com, April 15, 2021
• Russia withdraws troops from border - details - Rusvesna, April 22, 2021
• Russia To Pull Troops From Ukraine Border, Defusing Crisis - NPR, April 22, 2021
• The Ukraine Crisis Recedes - But A False Narrative Of It Leads To Bad Conclusions - Moon of Alabama, April 22, 2021
• RUSSIAN TROOPS ARE LEAVING, BUT... – EXPERT POINTS OUT THE KEY POINT OF SHOIGU'S ORDER - Tsargrad.tv, April 22, 2021

  ...the weapons and equipment of the 41st Army will remain at the Pogonovo training ground. It is 30 km from Voronezh and about 300 km from Lugansk.

• Russian "Maskirovka" in action - The last act of the Ukrainian drama that will last for months - WarNews 24|7, April 22, 2021
• War Is Over Before It Begins And Kiev Is Left To Play By Itself - SouthFront, April 23, 2021
• After Testing the World’s Limits, Putin Steps Back From the Brink - Anton Troianovski, The New York Times, April 23, 2021 (archive)
• Lavrov Warns Reversing Minsk Agreements Could Lead to Massacre in Donbass - Sputnik, April 28, 2021
• Lavrov Explained Russia's Position on Ukraine - Donbass Insider, April 30, 2021

Sore losers

• UKRAINE PRETENDS IT DOES NOT WANT TO SETTLE THE DONBASS CONFLICT BY FORCE – HYPOCRISY OR FEAR OF RUSSIA? - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, April 15, 2021
• European Parliament Passes Resolution Condemning Russia - RFE/RL, April 28, 2021

Folklore

• "To bomb Voronezh" (appeared in or before August 2008). (Map, here).
• "Banderlogi". Rudyard Kipling's Bandar-log ; Who are the banderlogs, and what it has to do with Bandera
• "To let the goat into the garden" : (Zelenskii, 26 April, 2021)
• "Crocodile tears" (Zelenskii, 26 April, 2021, 2).

People on video

• Tatyana Montian: DPR, 2nd site, Gol'ma, Residential Housing. Tatyana Montian and friends visit residential area in DPR close to separation line suffering from shelling, talks to residents, many of them elderly or having children with serious medical problems. Residents confirm that the latest new round of shelling started in February, 2021, after Zelensky visit to government-held Donbass.

Analysis

• Ukraine’s NATO fantasy is a suicide pill in disguise; military action by the alliance against pro-Russian forces would be crushed - Scott Ritter, RT, April 8, 2021
• Russia and the United States on the verge of a second Caribbean crisis - Russtrat, April 16, 2021
• Why Is Joe Biden Risking War with Russia over Ukraine? - Ted Galen Carpenter, 19FortyFive, April 20, 2021
• Unlearned History Lessons - Dmitry Medvedev, Sputnik, April 23, 2021
• Zelensky: A lost chance and Russia’s problems - Rostislav Ishchenko, Ukraine.ru, April 24, 2021 (partal translation)
• What Just Happened in the Ukraine? - The Saker, Unz Review, April 25, 2021
• Uncharted Waters - Israel Shamir, Unz Review, April 25, 2021
• Putin recites the distribution of power in central Europe - M. K. Bhadrakumar, Indian Punchline, April 26, 2021
• Did Zelensky fall into the trap? - 43 Ukrainian tanks deployed to Donetsk - Putin signs decree classification of reserves (video) - WarNews 24|7, April 26, 2021
• No Invasions. But the Sparks Continue - Brian Cloughley, Strategic Culture, April 27, 2021
• Russian Federation Sitrep 29 April 2021 - Patrick Armstrong
• The end of strategic ambiguity? America has finally stopped pretending it would risk war with Russia over supposed ‘ally’ Ukraine - Glenn Diesen, RT, May 8, 2021
• Pictures of a Ukrainian Dream - Pepe Escobar, The Saker Blog, May 11, 2021

See also

• 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine speculation
• Russian special operation in Ukraine