War
The preparations for the battle for Donbass has been underway for a couple of days on both sides. This battle will be the biggest and the bloodiest battle in the 21st century. Ukraine's army will have close to 90,000 people there and will have some limited help from NATO (not its direct involvement though). The Russians have redirected their Kiev/Chernigov people there as well and will have at least as many people as the Ukrainians there to face them and probably more.
The world has not seen a battle on this scale in this century and Europe has not seen anything like this since WWII. A lot of people on both sides will lose their lives next week. The outcome of this battle to a large extent will determine the course of this war and the future of both countries.
PS: I went to Ukraine and back three times now. We were taking some people who got trapped there out and bringing them here to safety. That involved bribing a lot of people there, getting robbed at gun point and having to lie on the ground while bullets were flying around us. On that second trip I thought at some point that I would not make it back. I have never seen human tragedy and the collapse of civilization on that scale (obviously) and the war felt very different than I thought it would (and I was just barely on its outskirts and not in the thick of it of course).
The world has not seen a battle on this scale in this century and Europe has not seen anything like this since WWII. A lot of people on both sides will lose their lives next week. The outcome of this battle to a large extent will determine the course of this war and the future of both countries.
PS: I went to Ukraine and back three times now. We were taking some people who got trapped there out and bringing them here to safety. That involved bribing a lot of people there, getting robbed at gun point and having to lie on the ground while bullets were flying around us. On that second trip I thought at some point that I would not make it back. I have never seen human tragedy and the collapse of civilization on that scale (obviously) and the war felt very different than I thought it would (and I was just barely on its outskirts and not in the thick of it of course).