EURASIA The “Creeping Integration” of the Donbass OE Watch Commentary: The conflict in the Donbass region between pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk/Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) and Ukrainian forces grinds on into its sixth year. While the front line has largely stabilized, sporadic fighting continues to claim military and civilian lives. Officially, the political status of these separatist republics remains in limbo, but as the two accompanying excerpts suggest, these separatist enclaves are slowly being incorporated into Russia. The first excerpt from the blog of Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin (“Colonel Cassad”) describes how the residents of the two separatist republics “who have already managed to get Russian passports (approximately 168,000) will be able to vote on a vote to amend the Constitution of the Russian Federation” sometime later this year. More importantly, he also alleges that these Russian passport holders are eligible to “serve in the Russian armed forces.” Rozhin characterizes this process as “a creeping integration without recognition.” The second excerpt comes from the military weekly, Voyenno-Promyshlennyy Kuryer (Military-Industrial Courier), and deals with recent comments by Vladislav Surkov, the former top Kremlin official for the country’s policy regarding Ukraine and the separatist republics. During a recent interview (after he had left his Kremlin position) Surkov insisted that “there is no Ukraine. There is ‘Ukraine-ness.’ That is, a specific disorder of the mind…. But there is no nation…. there is no Ukraine.” The article then describes other Russians who have voiced similar sentiments over the past several years, placing the blame for the ongoing conflict on “the junta in Kiev… who did not want to peacefully settle relations with the Donbass.” The article concludes, by again quoting Surkov who claims that “the DPR and LPR will not return to Ukraine.” Six years of fighting has done little to persuade the warring sides to become more amenable to compromise and to undertake negotiations toward a peaceful settlement. These two articles suggest that the prolonged conflict has hardened the position of the Kremlin, which will turn this into another frozen conflict rather than allow Ukraine to reestablish political control over the Donbass region.End OE Watch Commentary (Finch) “…In addition, residents of the DPR and LPR who received Russian passports can serve in the Russian armed forces on a common basis...” Map showing current status of conflict in the Donbass region. Source: mil.gov.ua, CCA 4.0 Intl OE Watch | April 2020 16 EURASIA Continued: The “Creeping Integration” of the Donbass Source: Boris Rozhin, “Коротко по Донбассу и Украине (Briefly in the Donbass and Ukraine),” Colonelcassad , 6 March 2020. colonelcassad.livejournal.com/5690206.html#cutid1 Residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic who have already managed to get Russian passports will be able to vote on a vote to amend the Constitution of the Russian Federation…. …In addition, residents of the DPR and LPR who received Russian passports can serve in the Russian armed forces on a common basis. In the DPR reported that at the moment on the territory of the republic there are 83,000 citizens who have already received Russian passports. In the LPR, officially 85,000 Russian citizens. …Such a creeping integration without recognition. Source: Alexander Utkin, “Донбасс на Украину не вернется (Donbass will not return to Ukraine),” Voyenno-Promyshlennyy Kuryer, 3 March 2020. https://vpk-news.ru/articles/55591 An interview with Vladislav Surkov, which he gave to the director of the Center for Political Conjuncture Aleksey Chesnakov, published on February 26 in the online publication “Actual Comments”, is actively discussed in the media space of Russia and Ukraine. Some statements by the ex-adviser to the president of the Russian Federation have brought Ukrainian officials and experts into a real fury. …“There is no Ukraine. There is Ukraine. That is a specific disorder of minds…. But there is no nation. There is a brochure “Self-Ukraine,” but there is no Ukraine…. And Vladislav Surkov has the right to emphasize that in Ukraine there is no nation. …That is why the junta who got up at the helm as a result of the coup d’etat did not want to peacefully settle relations with the Donbass, whose inhabitants at first simply did not recognize the accomplishment as a legal act. Russophobic changes in the mass consciousness occurred due to the war unleashed by the Kiev regime in the east… …Meanwhile, in Ukraine there are already two people’s republics - Donetsk and Lugansk, which have proved their right to exist by victories near Izvarino and Ilovaysk… It is not surprising that Surkov is sure that the DPR and LPR will not return to Ukraine. THE RUSSIAN WAY OF WAR by LESTER W. GRAU and CHARLES K. BARTLES At any given time, assessments of the Russian Armed Forces vary between the idea of an in- competent and corrupt conscript army manning decrepit Soviet equipment and relying solely on brute force, to the idea of an elite military filled with Special Operations Forces (SOF) who were the “polite people” or “little green men” seen on the streets in Crimea. This book will attempt to split the difference between these radically different ideas by shedding some light on what the Russian Ground Forces consist of, how they are structured, how they fight, and how they are modernizing. DOWNLOAD AT: https://community.apan.org/wg/tradoc-g2/fmso/m/fmso-books/199251/download OE Watch | April 2020 17.