Publication

This paper examines the offensive maneuver in Eastern Ukraine which was launched by Russian-backed separatists on June 3, 2015. The author first provides an overview of the offensive, and the context in which it took place, before noting how it parallels the operational design of another offensive that was launched following the breakdown of the first ceasefire talks in 2014. He then reviews the likely operational and strategic objectives of the offensive, suggesting they include 1) the seizure of the northern leg of the Donetsk-Mariupol H20 highway as a first step to taking over the strategic port city of Mariupol, and 2) pressuring Kyiv into making political concessions, such as granting political autonomy to the separatist ‘republics’.