An excerpt:
Donbas is a debilitating political and economic drain on Russia, and will return to Kyiv’s control in due course, but better by force of example than through force of arms. There will have to be a political process of some kind, a recognition on the part of the region's population that international law and practical interests align. Trying to reconquer Donbas, with the associated human loss and material destruction, will only back up Putin's pernicious narrative of a brutal and clumsy Ukrainian state.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, October 15, 2017. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our ongoing coverage.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council: