New offensive in Donbas: 7 soldiers killed, Avdiyivka metallurgical coke plant stops operating

UKRAINE - In Brief 31 Jan 2017 by Dmytro Boyarchuk
Over the last few days Russians and separatists unfolded heavy attacks on Ukrainian positions. Officials reported 7 Ukrainian soldiers killed. Yesterday Avdiyivka metallurgical coke plant (belongs to Rinat Akhmetov) was seriously damaged with shelling and was finally stopped. The total town of Avdiyivka (near 20 thousand of inhabitants) was cut off of electricity and heating. And we have -20°C on the street. Top news is about saving Avdiyivka people. What happened? Why Russians and separatists started assault now, amid unfavorable weather conditions? Everyone talks that Trump’s call to Putin triggered this assault. But I think there might be more down to earth reason for new attacks. I wrote about blockade of coal trading with separatists. Attacks surprisingly coincided with the start of blockade. Rotterdam+ is very important financial flow both for Russia-backed separatists and for rent-seeking groups on Ukrainian side. Too much of public attention to the blockade of coal trading is really dangerous for them. What to do in this case? Bring more horrible news on TV and people will forget about Rotterdam+. At least for a while. And that’s what is already happening. Avdiyivka and deaths of soldiers make headlines overshadowing other issues. Will it help to preserve Rotterdam+ and lift blockade? Possibly. People indeed are scared of Russia’s aggression. Still, on the other hand, escalated fights make people even more furious about paying money to separatists. By the time of this writing eyewitnesses report in social nets that shelling and attacks still continue.

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