Introduction

In this chapter, the authors investigate the causes and the consequences of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and the responses to it so far by the local, national and external actors. They examine the feasibility and viability of a number of the options for the settlement of the conflict. The conflict in Ukraine has evolved since 2013 from initially peaceful protests against then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to delay the signature of an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) to the full-scale military conflict in 2014–2015 and to an unstable ceasefire interrupted by, at times, intense clashes between Ukrainian armed forces and separatist rebels. The conflict has also led to the establishment of yet another de-facto entity (or, in fact, two) in the post-Soviet space, and one that dwarfs existing entities in the geographical and population size.