ABSTRACT
The conflict in eastern Ukraine is approaching its third year with little sign of a negotiated resolution. Crimea has been absorbed into the Russian Federation and will celebrate the second anniversary of its 'integration' in March 2016. The ongoing nature of the conflict contrasts with a lack of academic exploration of the issues surrounding it. To date, most analyses have focused on the geopolitical implications of the Ukrainian crisis, such as the impact on NATO-Russia relations, and foreign policy responses to the crisis from a variety of state and supranational actors including the EU and Russia. The role of sub-state and non-state actors has been largely overlooked. Vladimir Rauta focuses on the role of non-state armed actors in the Ukrainian conflict, comparatively evaluating the types of military interventions in Crimea and south-eastern Ukraine. Igor Istomin and Irina Bolgova analyse the strategy of Moldova's separatist region of Transnistria in the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations.
