Why Russia is trying to seize a vital Ukrainian coal mine
Without it, the country’s remaining steel industry will be crippled
ON THE OUTSKIRTS of the eastern city of Pokrovsk two women stand waiting for their lift. Like most civilians in the city they have already fled elsewhere, but they have come back to collect some belongings. They are standing by a boarded-up petrol station which was bustling just a few months ago. Russian troops are creeping ever closer, and a full-scale battle for the city is about to be joined. New defensive lines have been dug to the west of Pokrovsk to which, if and when it falls, Ukrainian troops will hope to fall back.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Digging for victory”
Europe October 19th 2024
- Italy starts outsourcing its migrant crisis to Albania
- This tiny country is a laboratory for Russia’s dirty tricks
- Why Russia is trying to seize a vital Ukrainian coal mine
- The limits of Turkey’s strategic autonomy
- Poland’s new modern-art museum wants to give the capital a fresh look
- Hopes for religious harmony come to life in the Muslim Vatican
From the October 19th 2024 edition
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The return of Europe’s oldest scourge
Once dominant, Germany is now desperate
As an election looms its business model is breaking down