Despite the grave economic crisis, Russia will likely not capitulate to Western pressures, as evidenced by the continuation of the fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed forces and Western-backed government forces.
The Minsk II Agreement: Implications of a (Shaky) Ceasefire
By INSS Zvi Magen , Sarah Fainberg , Olena Bagno-Moldavsky —— Bio and Archives--March 5,
2015
The Minsk II Agreement, reached on February 12, 2015 between Ukraine and the separatist provinces in the east of the country, did not lead to an immediate ceasefire. The Russian-backed separatists intensified the fighting and succeeded in encircling and defeating the Ukrainian forces in the Debaltseve bulge.
