JRL NEWSWATCH: “Don’t forget Ukraine’s rural Donbas; War has taken its toll on rural areas under Ukrainian government control in Luhansk region. There’s little sign of relief or policy.” [Excerpt] – OpenDemocracy.net/Brian Milakovsky

“The armed conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas has divided the region into government- and separatist-controlled areas. In Luhansk Oblast, the frontline for most of its length is the Siversky Donets River, which is also a historical dividing line.

To the south is the coal-rich Donets Upland, the ‘true Donbas’ that was largely unsettled before industrial development in the 19th century. Today almost all of this territory is part of the unrecognised ‘Luhansk People’s Republic.’ To the north are three small industrial cities and a vast rural region of black earth and chalk hills controlled by the Ukrainian government. This territory is historically more associated with Slobozhanschyna, the region of free Ukrainian peasants centered around Kharkiv. When its residents left for factory work in Luhansk, they would often say they were ‘moving to the Donbas’….”

Click here for: “Don’t forget Ukraine’s rural Donbas; War has taken its toll on rural areas under Ukrainian government control in Luhansk region. There’s little sign of relief or policy.” [Excerpt] – OpenDemocracy.net/Brian Milakovsky